Tony Docherty unsure whether ‘brilliant’ Luke McCowan will remain at Dundee

Tony Docherty admitted he has no idea yet whether Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hibernian was Luke McCowan’s last game for Dundee.

The 26-year-old midfielder captained the Dark Blues at Easter Road even though the Edinburgh club have been trying to buy him over the past month.

Docherty praised the way the in-demand McCowan – also linked with Celtic – handled the occasion as he helped Dundee keep their unbeaten start to the campaign going.

“He grabs the game and he’s got the mentality that he doesn’t want to get beat, and I want to surround myself with players like that in the dressing room,” said the manager.

“That’s why he is captain, he drags other players through it.”

Asked if he was confident McCowan would still be at Dundee beyond the transfer deadline next Friday, Docherty said: “We’ll see. If you get players performing at that level you are going to attract suitors.

“We’ll see what happens in the next week, he is a brilliant boy.”

Docherty saw his side make it eight games unbeaten in all competitions this season as Simon Murray scored a late equaliser after Hibs pair Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie had overturned Scott Tiffoney’s early opener.

Docherty still feels he needs to bolster his squad with new recruits over the coming days.

“Hopefully I can add some more,” he said. “I don’t want to put numbers on it but hopefully a few because we are a wee bit short in terms of numbers on the bench.

“But I’ve got such a strong squad that I’m only going to add what will complement and supplement a really strong squad.”

Hibs boss David Gray insisted his players need to be strong enough to deal with grumbles from the home support when things are not going well.

The Hibees faithful, who have endured a tough start to the campaign, grew restless in the first half as the hosts struggled before improving after the break.

“I think that’s just part of being a football player,” said former Hibs captain Gray. “You have to deal with it, the expectation of playing for a club of this size. You need to be big enough to deal with it, as a team and individually.

“I’ve been here when it’s been really, really good, so I know how good it can be, and you need to remember that. But it’s about looking at ourselves and where we can improve.

“We all know the areas we need to do that. We need to be better defensively.”