Tony Docherty confident Dundee are in good hands while he serves touchline ban

Dundee manager Tony Docherty is confident his preparations and close working relationship with his coaching staff will ensure his touchline ban has minimal effect against Celtic.

Docherty will sit in the stands for the visit of the Premiership leaders on Sunday after an accumulation of yellow cards.

“Unfortunately I picked up a fourth booking against Aberdeen with my wee tussle with Graeme Shinnie,” he said.

“I am disappointed but it doesn’t affect preparation too much in terms of all the work we do during the week and prior to the match.

“And I have brilliant staff in Scott Paterson and Stuart Taylor. They will deputise.

“It’s all about the players, it’s all about the game. We never had a game at the weekend have spent a lot of time on the grass working on the game plan and we know the kind of game plan we need to execute to give us a chance against a real top opponent.

“We will have a line of communication and that’s the thing about the way we work together. We are very close and we discuss everything, every fine detail on team selection, training and game plan. So we are all very much on the same page.

“The thing about match day is I am out there and can be that focal point for the team but Stuart will do that and there will be ongoing dialogue and communication to make sure we are executing the game plan, that I would stress that we have worked on all week.

“We take great pride as a staff that the players know their jobs before they go on the pitch.

“So it’s just about reinforcing messages and Stuart is more than capable with his experience of doing that.”