Dundee boss Steven Pressley rails against Yan Dhanda decision – but how will he replace the banned playmaker?

The Dark Blues will be without a key player in Saturday’s vital match against Livingston.

Steven Pressley railed against the “black-and-white” character of current football officiating, admitting Yan Dhanda’s absence against Livingston will be a significant setback.

The Dark Blues will be without one of their key attacking players for a crucial Premiership match against Livingston on Saturday. Dhanda received a straight red card against Motherwell over the weekend, and his appeal against the two-match ban was dismissed on Tuesday.

“It’s frustrating because when he arrived here, he was still behind in terms of games,” Pressley said about Dhanda’s suspension.

“We’ve seen improvements game after game, and I thought he provided his greatest performance in the second half against Motherwell. “I chatted with him later, and he stated that was the greatest he’d felt.

“Not having that continuity is frustrating for both him and us. “We had to contest it because there was no intent from Yan, and we hoped they would take that into account. “But we also knew our chances were less than we’d like.”

‘Football isn’t black and white’

He continued, “It may be quite aggravating. I believe we are attempting to make it a black-and-white game, which football is not.

“That is the difficulty: each moment or decision should be contextualised. “It’s as if this is the rule, and that’s what occurs. “So, it is very much trying to be black and white, and as I’ve said, I don’t think that is football.”

Pressley did, however, commend Willie Collum’s straightforward attitude to managing Scotland’s referees.

But now he needs to devise a strategy to defeat Livingston on Saturday without Dhanda’s ingenuity.

How can Dundee replace Dhanda this weekend?

Pressley’s midfield choices are already limited due to Paul Digby’s injury and Cesar Garza’s absence with Mexico for the U/20 World Cup in Chile.

Winger Charlie Reilly is close to returning from a broken collarbone, but he is unlikely to be fit for this weekend.

Should Pressley decide for anything akin to the 4-2-3-1 that worked well in the second half against Motherwell, he has some choices.

Fin Robertson and Ethan Hamilton played centrally behind Dhanda. All being well, Hamilton will start, while Robertsons could be pushed farther forward into Dhanda’s position.

After all, he wears the No. 10 shirt. Callum Jones would then return to the team after being an unused substitute against ‘Well’. However, there would be no midfielder available to come off the bench in such scenario.

Youngster Ethan Crombie had been a reserve option earlier in the season, and Drey Wright might be deployed in an emergency.

Cam Congreve has already played a key role and might be quite good there. However, the compromise means losing the influence he had from the wing against Motherwell.

Two up top?

But there’s another alternative. And it could gratify Charlie Adam, based on his comments about Simon Murray’s need for assistance this week.

In a 4-4-2 formation, start with two up top.

Joe Westley has had to wait for his chance to play up front after starting the previous four games as the right-sided No 10. However, he has been removed at halfway in the last two games.

Emile Acquah hasn’t played much but would provide a new dimension to the front line, while Ashley Hay was given the nod ahead of him late against Motherwell. Hay is also Dundee’s only Premiership goalscorer this season.

Dhanda ‘will be missed’

Regardless of their strategy, Pressley and his team are not in a good position without Dhanda’s expertise. “It will be very difficult,” the Dens manager said.

“After we made a little tactical change against Motherwell, he proved essential to our defensive performance, winning the ball and then making the release pass out of the congestion.

“He was the biggest difference in the game, albeit Cam Congreve made an impact when he came on.” We were able to obtain the release pass: “He gave us that on so many occasions, and his positioning, his ability to receive in those areas will be missed.”

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