Tony Docherty impressed by Willie Collum’s officiating improvements

Dundee boss Tony Docherty has praised Willie Collum for his early steps towards improving the image of VAR in Scotland.

The former Grade One referee succeeded Crawford Allan as the Scottish Football Association’s head of refereeing in the summer and has swiftly set about trying to enhance communication and transparency around how the technology is being utilised.

The SFA released the first episode of The VAR Review, a new monthly show on the SFA’s YouTube channel, in which Collum highlighted and assessed several key decisions made by officials during the first month of the season.

This new development has been widely welcomed, and Docherty believes things are now heading in the right direction under the new head of referees after several contentious issues surrounding VAR since it was first rolled out in Scotland in autumn 2022.

“I said in the summer when Willie got appointed that I thought it was a brilliant appointment,” said the Dark Blues boss. “I really applaud him for the recent programme he did. I watched the whole thing.

“I’ve always been an advocate of VAR. Anything that’s going to develop and enhance our game, I’m all for, and VAR will. But it just needs somebody to make sure it’s going through the process the right way, and I think Willie is doing that.

“It’s all about communication, there has to be better communication than there was last year, and I think Willie has taken that on board. There has to be more consistency as well. And if he continues to do what he’s done there, then I applaud what he’s doing. It can only benefit the game.”

Docherty was pleased to report that Charlie Reilly and Clark Robertson, who is yet to make a competitive appearance since joining in the summer, are both closing in on a return from injuries sustained in July.

“Charlie and Clark have been back training with the squad this week and we expect a full return for them next week,” he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Ross County.

“This Saturday might be too early for them but it’s great because we’ve got two relatively long-term injuries coming back and it feels like two new signings.”

Captain Joe Shaughnessy, who ruptured his ACL in April, started running this week and is deemed to be “ahead of schedule” in his recovery but Docherty was reluctant to put a timeline on his potential return to match-day contention.