The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
MacDonald keen to make sure ‘Hoppy’ isn’t happy
DUNDEE’S PETER MacDonald admits he is a big fan of Morton caretaker manager David Hopkin.
However, the Dark Blues’top striker, who left the Greenock side for Dens Park in the summer, insists “Hoppy” will not be happy at the end of today’s game at Cappielow.
Dundee are looking to bounce back strongly in the league following last week’s disappointing Scottish Cup exit at home to Raith Rovers.
And while MacDonald believes that Hopkins — who has taken over on a temporary basis following the sacking of Allan Moore — will receive great backing from the Morton faithful, he is equally convinced his side will be heading home with all three points in the bag.
The 33-year-old, who has netted 10 times for Dundee so far this season, said: “They have David Hopkin standing in for the manager. He was there when I was at the club and Hoppy is a great coach.
“The Morton boys seem to have really taken to him and I am sure he will have them up for the game.
“It is not an easy place to go to and I am sure the fans will be backing Hoppy as he is a legend down there. I imagine they will come out in their numbers.
“Cappielow is quite a tight pitch but it is a great surface so if we are on our game and work hard, we will come away with three points.”
Hopkin took over on a temporary basis last month following Moore’s dismissal after a poor run of results that culminated in a 5-1 defeat by Livingston.
However, MacDonald insists his former manager was very much a victim of circumstance after having his budget slashed.
He said: “I have a lot of good memories from my time at Morton. My old gaffer Allan Moore has been sacked which I find sad as he built up a great team last year which finished second in the league.
“He could have progressed that team if he had been given more belief from the club in terms of budget. However, he wasn’t given that. Instead, the budget was slashed by one hundred grand, I think.
“He lost boys like myself, Willie Dyer, Martin Hardie, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Michael Tidser and Davie Graham. We were all playing week in, week out last season and were players who had been there, done it and are all winners.
“He then had to scrimp and save all over the place.
“I wasn’t shocked when Allan was sacked as I knew it was probably on the cards because of results but I can’t help thinking personally, what if he had been given the right backing for a second year?
“Keep all the same boys, the same money and bring in some others. I think you have to spend a wee bit to progress.
“It happened the opposite way, with a hundred grand being cut out of his budget.
“There were drastic wage cuts as well. To go from being second in the league, which I believe was their greatest finish in well over 20 years, to this — I just think it is a missed opportunity. I think he could have taken them forward with the right backing but instead he has lost his job, which is poor.”
Morton are currently languishing at the bottom of the Championship table but MacDonald insists that, while he has a lot of sympathy with his former club’s current plight, there will be no room for sentiment — especially after last week’s cup exit.
He added: “It was a sore one to take last Saturday. We never got going in the first half and they made things difficult for us.
“To lose the goal that we did was obviously disappointing but we win as a team and we lose as a team.
“Nobody is going to start pointing the finger of blame at anyone else.
“We came out and played better in the second half but we have to ask ourselves the question why did it take so long to start playing?
“We were confident following our win against Hamilton the week before but it just shows you what happens when teams from this league meet, it is swings and roundabouts.
“Every side is capable of beating another. The only good thing that can come out of it is that it was in the cup and not the league which has always been our priority.”