Tony Docherty happy to see Joe Shaughnessy reaping rewards after injury battle

Tony Docherty was pleased to see club captain Joe Shaughnessy reaping the rewards after bravely battling back from serious injury.

The 32-year-old defender ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Rangers at Dens last April.

Shaughnessy required an operation and since then has spent months in rehab.

The popular Irishman finally made his long-awaited return to competitive action on Saturday in the 82nd minute of the 4-0 Scottish Cup win over Airdrieonians at Dens.

And Docherty was delighted that his skipper has taken another important step on the comeback trail.

The manager said: “It was a good day’s work and I really need to tip my hat and say well done to the players, because they put on an exceptionally professional performance, particularly in that first half.

“It’s been a long time on the sidelines for Joe.

“He played 60 minutes in a reserve game on Tuesday and we’ll do that again to make sure he’s ready when he comes into it.

“But it was just brilliant for him coming on against Airdrie as a reward. You could see the reaction of his team-mates, the reaction of the fans and just how popular he is.

“Joe has worked really hard to get back and I hope he enjoyed that last 10 minutes.

“It’s just building blocks to getting him back in the thick of things.”

Prior to Saturday, Dundee had lost their last two league games against Hearts and Celtic by identical 6-0 scorelines.

And Docherty admitted he was looking for a big response against Airdrie.

He added: “I wanted a reaction from the players and I’ve seen that. There were a lot of really good performances.

“The objective was to get through in the tie and I think we won it in the first half.

“In the second half, the objective was to keep a clean sheet, which we did. So we can only take positives from that.

“But listen, it’s just great to be in a position where we’re sitting back now, watching the games over the weekend and seeing what the draw is for the next round.

“The players showed a lot of character and that’s why I think they deserve huge credit.

“I thought it was typified in the last part of the game when Simon Murray ran back to a left-back position, putting in a sliding tackle, and loud as anything, saying, ‘Make sure we keep a clean sheet’.

“That mentality and spirit will serve us well. It has served us well up to the games previous to last Saturday.”