Tony Docherty has heaped praise on the Dens Park crowd after cheering Dundee to an uplifting 3-1 victory over Hearts on Saturday.
The Dark Blues saw off the team that finished comfortably in third place by haring into a 3-0 half-time lead.
Though there were moments for concern in the second period as the Jambos put pressure on the Dee backline, the fans in the stands were in full voice for much of the second half.
And Docherty says it is a big help for his side to hear that kind of backing.
“It’s the first time since 2001 that Dundee have won their opening Premiership match,” the Dundee boss said.
“Juan Sara and Gavin Rae scored to beat Hibs.
“Lyall Cameron, Ethan Ingram, Zayid Larkeche and Seb Palmer-Houlden weren’t even born then!
“It’s a huge shot in the arm to have the punters the way they were on Saturday.
“The players really appreciate it, we had a good home record last year.
“I think we only lost 7 games out of 19 at home.
“So we want to build on that and make Dundee a really difficult place to come.
“The opposition are playing the team on the pitch but they’re playing the fans in the stand as well.
“The crowd were outstanding, their first home game of the season, they really played their part.
“I know the players and staff appreciate it and want to thank them for it.”
Pitch
Docherty was quick to point to the quality of the Dens Park pitch, too.
The surface at Dundee’s home ground has been the subject of much conjecture and just as much ridicule after five matches being postponed last season.
That led to the club embarking on a major overhaul across the close season, which saw two Premier Sports Cup home matches played in Brechin.
Saturday was their first home match in three months and the Dundee boss was delighted with the surface.
“The other thing I want to mention is the pitch was excellent,” he added.
“I think everybody responded to that and [groundsman] Paul Murray deserves loads of credit for the condition he’s got it in.”
Ziyad Larkeche
Meanwhile, concern over the fitness of left-back Ziyad Larkeche has been eased.
The French defender went down clutching his leg in the second half against Hearts and required the stretcher.
However, he has already returned to training and will be available to face Airdrieonians in the League Cup this coming weekend.
“Zayid is fine, he’s come in and he’s trained,” Docherty explained.
“I think he got a fright. Sometimes when you’ve not played for a while, you maybe think it’s worse than it is, and he probably did.
“He came down to cramp but it was the right decision because he was feeling it.
“I think if he’d gone on, he maybe would have run the risk just because that was his first 90 minutes last week.
“He was in on Sunday getting assessed and he was in with the squad on Monday.
“He played well until that point.
“I thought both full-backs were really good, they really equipped themselves well in the game.”
