Three Is The Magic Number For Dundee Boss Paul Hartley

[JoeCovenant]

Paul Hartley has vowed to stick with Dundee’s controversial three at the back despite his players’ pre-split flop at Hamilton.

The Dark Blues gaffer is convinced his team is well-suited to the formation, which was unsuccessfully given a trial earlier in the season but brought back in recent weeks.

Many punters have called for the manager to change his tactics but Paul reckons it works.

And, as a result, he will continue to employ it, starting with the trip to Firhill to take on Partick Thistle this weekend.

He said: “We tried it a couple of times earlier in the season and I thought it worked well in the defeat to Aberdeen.

“Maybe over the last couple of games the players have really started to buy into it.

“It’s something we’re going to keep playing.

“It suits the players we have in the squad right now.â€

The Dark Blues’ success using the formation has been mixed to say the least.

Back in August an injury crisis further forward forced the manager’s hand.

He operated with the three at Aberdeen — a 2-0 defeat — and also at Dunfermline in the League Cup where Dundee were embarrassingly dumped out of the competition by the League One side.

The formation, which has divided opinion among fans, wasn’t seen again until the creditable 0-0 draw at Celtic Park in March, where again circumstance, with a massive Scottish Cup quarter-final on the horizon, allowed the manager to change things up.

The relative success enjoyed against the champions-elect, and the failure at Ibrox just days later, saw Paul revert to a 3-4-1-2 formation, which is what they have stuck with since the 1-0 loss to Hearts.

It has brought about two draws — again against Celtic and also in the City of Discovery derby — one emphatic win over Ross County and the pre-split 2-1 loss to Hamilton Accies.

Paul said: “It’s something I like.

“It’s a system I feel can be successful for this team moving forward.â€

Meanwhile, Paul is still awaiting news on the fitness of a number of his key players ahead of the Thistle clash.

Rory Loy and Paul McGinn both face a race against time to be fit for the trip to Maryhill.

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