Steven Pressley Transforms Dundee's Fortunes with Derby Win

Tote bag slung over his shoulder and a grin that said everything, Steven Pressley strode down Tannadice Street with his Dundee players on Saturday, cutting the figure of a man utterly at ease in a place that once bristled with hostility towards him.

Twelve months ago, that same walk felt very different.

Back then, the Dens Park support raged at his appointment. A League Cup group exit to lower-league sides and a five-game winless start to the Premiership hardened the mood. The fourth of those league matches was a 2-0 home defeat to Dundee United, a result that left Pressley under real strain and his team marooned near the bottom.

Fast forward a year and the scoreline is identical – but everything else has flipped.

This time it was Dundee celebrating a 2-0 derby win at Tannadice, their fans bouncing out into the Dundee night with their team sitting second from top, not second from bottom. The same fixture that once deepened the gloom has become a marker of how far Pressley and his players have dragged the club.

"I'm immensely proud of this group of players," he told BBC Scotland, his voice as steady as ever despite the emotion of the occasion. "Derby games are never won on tactical detail, they're won on spirit and determination and I think we had that in abundance."

That line summed up the day. Pressley, known for his calm, straight-talking manner, praised his squad’s character but admitted, almost with a chuckle, that they had gone off-script.

"We didn't carry out any part of [the game plan] to be honest," he said. "But what was very apparent in our performance was the grit and determination that your supporters are generally so proud of."

The numbers back up the sense of momentum. Stretching back to the end of last season, when Dundee clung to safety with three wins in their final four league games, Pressley’s side have now taken five victories from their past seven Premiership matches. This is no flash in the pan.

He will not shout about targets in public. That is not his style. Yet behind closed doors, there is no doubt the aim is to push well beyond last season’s eighth-place finish.

"What's most pleasing is that the three league games have been incredibly difficult games," Pressley added. "But there's a spirit and togetherness about us just now that is serving us well."

That spirit has been built, not bought. A year ago, many saw Pressley as a joke figure, a lightning rod for frustration. Now, the same personality that drew mockery is one of Dundee’s biggest assets. Players talk about how much they enjoy working under him, and it shows in the way this squad fights for each other.

His four years at Brentford, quietly honing his craft at a club lauded for its modern methods, have clearly sharpened his coaching. His contacts south of the border have also been crucial, allowing Dundee to pull off smart loan deals. Yet this is not some expensively assembled side.

Much of the team is stitched together from Scottish football’s overlooked and underappreciated.

Ryan Flynn, now at Arbroath and a former Pressley player at Falkirk, told BBC Scotland that his old boss excels at instilling belief and creating an environment where players feel they can thrive. That message has landed in this Dundee dressing room.

Drey Wright, the versatile livewire who struck the opening goal in the derby, has grown into a key figure since arriving from St Johnstone. Alan Forrest, released by Hearts, has been given a new platform. Forwards Charlie Reilly and Joe Bevan were turning out for Albion Rovers not so long ago, far from the glare of a Dundee derby.

Then there is Owen Bevan. On loan at Hibernian in 2024 without making a single appearance, the centre-back seized his moment at Tannadice, scoring the second goal and defending superbly alongside Ryan Astley during some fraught spells. When Dundee had to suffer, that pairing stood tall.

"Sometimes winning away from home is being comfortable with the uncomfortable and we did that at times," Pressley said, capturing exactly what his team had just produced.

"It was no tactical detail that won us the game today, it was a group of players that were determined not to lose that derby and I couldn't be prouder of them."

From fury to affection, from near the bottom to the top end of the table, Pressley has turned a sceptical club around with grit, personality and a squad built from football’s odds and ends. The question now is no longer whether he belongs at Dens Park – it is how far this unlikely Dundee side can ride this surge.