Amadou Bakayoko enjoying feeling wanted under Tony Docherty at Dundee

Dundee forward Amadou Bakayoko is determined to repay Tony Docherty’s faith after an unhappy six months with Forest Green.

Bakayoko joined Dundee on a season-long loan this summer and made his cinch Premiership debut in last weekend’s opener against Motherwell.

The 27-year-old moved to Forest Green for an undisclosed fee in January but manager Ian Burchnall lost his job two weeks later and Rovers got relegated from Sky Bet League One under Duncan Ferguson.

Bakayoko said: “The main thing for me was the manager having belief in myself.

“He has shown he wants to work with me and he can get the best out of me. It’s always nice to be wanted in football. It brings the best out in players. Hopefully I can repay him with good performances and a lot of wins for the team.

“You want to work for someone that wants you, it makes you want to do a lot more for the club and for him and for yourself.”

The former Walsall and Coventry player did not score in 19 games for Forest Green after moving from Bolton.

“At the time of leaving Bolton it was a tough decision,” he said. “It wasn’t something I really needed to do, I could have happily stayed. I was enjoying my time there.

“But it was a new challenge, I was going into the team as the main man, which was something I always wanted. Unfortunately it didn’t work out the way I wanted but a lot of things off the pitch were hindering the players.

“You have to stay mind-strong and I’m glad this opportunity came to be able to play somewhere a bit more stable and enjoy my football again.

“You learn a lot through those stages in terms of managers, players, mindset. It was a tough period and it’s something I have definitely learned from. I will bring that experience that every game matters, every minute, every second.”

Dundee take on St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday after getting their first point of the season against Motherwell.

“That’s what it’s about, proving to everyone that we belong in this league,” Bakayoko said.

“We played some good football regardless of the conditions. Being 1-0 down in this league and getting back is really tough so I think we did really well. The boys did well, dug deep and created chances and we were unlucky not to win.”