Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Docherty fuelled up by doubters as he eyes debut in Premiership
ROSS Docherty insists he is ready to tackle his first season at the top level of Scottish football after finally overcoming his injury woes.
The 31-year-old captained Dundee United back to the Premiership at the first time of asking after making the move from Partick Thistle last summer.
Docherty amassed 20 appearances over the Championship campaign, but saw his season plagued by several recurring muscle complaints.
He endured a testing start to this term, missing the Premier Sports Cup group stage and the first two league games with a niggling calf problem.
However, the combative midfielder finally kicked off his campaign last Sunday with a 15-minute cameo as United claimed a 1-0 win over St Mirren to reach the Premier Sports Cup quarter final.
“It was brilliant to be back,” said Docherty. “It was a stop-start campaign last year so hopefully now that I am back, I can try to get in the team and then stay in it.
“I have not played in the Premiership before, so I want to challenge myself in the league and see how I get on.
“We (Jim Goodwin and Docherty) spoke in the summer to see how I could come back strong. I had a wee setback when I did come back but now I have recovered, hopefully I can kick on.
“I’m working closely with the management and medical team to maintain a level of fitness this season.”
Docherty reasoned that rushing himself back from injuries played a part in his frustrating time in the Tangerines.
He has recently made the move to Dundee and is hoping that a shorter commute to United’s St Andrews training base will ease the strain on his body.
“I was getting up at the back of six in the morning and it was two hours in the car and then two hours back down the road,” said Docherty.
“There was the odd night I would stay up here but I think, for me, it was just a case of not being used to doing it.
“When I picked up the first one or two injuries last year, I was pushing to get back as it was such an important season. You are probably doing yourself a disservice by coming back and getting injured again.
“Hopefully, this time we have been a bit more patient.”
Docherty also opened up on the mental challenges during his various lay-offs as he seeks to find motivation in those ready to
write him off. “I don’t read much of what people say, but the odd person sends me certain things and I take it lightly,” continued Docherty. “At the same time, people are saying it so they have certain ideas – and it maybe spreads.
“You use things like that – whether it is people questioning your ability or mentality.
“It was the same last year when I tried to use the play-off final from the previous season as fuel. It is good motivation. I think as a sportsperson you need to find wee things like that.”
The Terrors face off against St Johnstone at home today, with the Saints unbeaten in seven matches at Tannadice.
Docherty declared that United will take lessons from their first two league matches to aid their search for a first Premiership win of the season.
“It’s been a solid start,” added Docherty.
“We’ve been slightly disappointed in terms of the games that we’ve not won, but not disappointed in how we’ve played.
“In the second half against Ross County, we probably should have seen the game out. There were huge positives on Sunday (against St Mirren) because, other than a small chance at the end from a long throw, they never really had much.
“For the fans it probably wasn’t the most exciting in terms of us playing possession football and being expansive – but there are going to be a lot more games like that this season where we need to just concentrate on winning the game.”