A key game in this season’s IRN-BRU SFL First Division takes place tomorrow at Dens Park as Dundee host Ross County in a 'Battle of the Blues'. The Dark Blues of Tayside have moved up from bottom place into third spot on the back of a run that has seen them only lose once in 13 games while County have an impressive 19 League game unbeaten run behind them however, five draws in six games has seen their lead chipped away at by Barry Smith’s side and second placed Falkirk.
The Dingwall men remain in pole position as they lead The Bairns by two points and Dundee by five with three games in hand however, things will tighten up for the run-in if they were to suffer their first defeat since Week Two of the season.
Dundee striker Steven Milne will be doing all he can to ensure that the title race is as exciting as possible by scoring against a County side that he played for last season although at that time, he was in an unfamiliar position and so were they.
Milne said: “It is shaping up as a great game but to be honest, we have not had much time to think about it as we had Queen of the South last Saturday and then Falkirk on Tuesday so the games are coming thick and fast just now.
“I played at Ross County for a few months last season and I have to say the people at the club and the players were fantastic to me. It is a fantastic place but it was not the most enjoyable time of my career.”
The 31-year-old explained why by saying: “I went there to get games as I was not featuring much for St. Johnstone but I was played in a midfield role which was new to me. I was also away from home a lot and I have a young family so I found it difficult to be apart from them.
“The move worked out in terms of getting games again but I know that the County fans did not see the best of me as I was playing in a role which I did not really enjoy.”
Milne had a previous unhappy long distance relationship with a football club when he joined Plymouth Argyle as he explained: “I joined them after my first stint with Dundee ended in the summer of 2004 but I picked up a serious injury and that made my time down there miserable but I am back now and that is the main thing.”
Milne did add to his medal collection during his time in Dingwall as he made a substitute appearance in the re-arranged ALBA Challenge Cup Final last season that County won under the guidance of Jimmy Calderwood when they defeated Queen of the South 2-0.
“That was a strange one for me as I had never played in any of the previous rounds but I ended up with a winners' medal. I also have one from my time at St. Johnstone when we beat Dunfermline 3-2 at Dens Park and I have a First Division Championship medal from my time at Perth when we won the First Division, so it was nice to add to that.
“I have not picked up a winners' medal with Dundee yet and the closest I have came was in the Scottish Cup Final in 2003 when I came on as a substitute against a Rangers side that beat us 1-0 and I will keep on trying to add one.”
Despite their cup success, the County side that Milne joined was having a poor season in the First Division and at one stage, it looked like they would be involved in an edge of the seat race with Cowdenbeath to avoid the relegation Play-Offs.
Milne said: “I went there at the end of January and County were having a difficult season and they were struggling in third bottom place. We continued to struggle there, which was a surprise, and we remained in eighth place for the rest of my time there.
“We had too many draws but the basis of a very good team was there and I knew they would be a lot stronger this season.”
Milne returned to St. Johnstone at the end of the season and then agreed to re-join his first club in the summer and has played his part in helping to pull them up the First Division table.
He explained: “My own club are doing okay after a slower start to the season than we would have liked. We struggled to score goals in the League earlier on but we are doing better now. We have not fully caught up yet and trail County by five points but we have two games against them to play so nothing has been decided yet. They are still the favourites but we will do our best to catch them.
“Our plan is to turn draws into wins and keep the pressure on them and see where that takes us. We have a thin squad but we will give it our best shot. County are out in front at the moment but we cannot dictate what they do.”
Dundee bolstered their ranks in midweek with the capture of former Falkirk striker Carl Finnigan, who like Milne last season, has taken the opportunity of getting game time in the SFL First Division as opposed to not playing enough in the SPL for St. Johnstone.
Finnigan announced the start of his loan deal by grabbing a late leveller against his former Bairns' colleagues on Tuesday with Milne saying: “I still speak to a lot of the players at St. Johnstone and they have all told me good things about Carl. It is great to have competition for places as it keeps everyone on their toes.”
Milne knows what it is like to be involved in a First Division chase as just less than three years ago, he scored what could have been the decisive goal of the season in the First Division for St. Johnstone ironically against Dundee at Dens Park in what was probably a bigger contest than this weekend’s clash with his former Dingwall side.
“We could have won the League depending on other results and I did my bit with a winner in a 1-0 success,” said Milne before adding, “Results did not go our way that day but we did win it the next weekend against Morton and I scored twice in that game.”
The striker is enjoying his second stint with Dundee commenting: “They are a club I have supported and my first spell here lasted seven years so it was great to come back and be part of it again.”
Milne, who recently won the December SFL Goal of the Month competition for a fantastic lob against Hamilton Academical, is now up to 12 goals for the season, just three short of his best ever tally of 15 that he grabbed for St. Johnstone in their First Division Championship winning season.
He concluded by saying: “I have stalled a wee bit since we spoke about the Goal of the Moth Award when I was on 11 goals. It is getting closer but to be honest, it does not really matter who scores as long as Dundee win.”
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