Scott Fraser is desperate to deliver at Dundee because he knows he failed to hit the heights at Hearts.
The midfielder had a loan spell at Tynecastle in the second half of last season but it was curtailed by a niggling injury, as the Jambos closed out third place. The 29-year-old admitted it was hard to take and that is why he has come back to Dundee determined and with a point to prove a Premiership point.
Fraser admitted: “Yeah and listen I’m not going to make excuses or anything, I’ve never sort of been that player to take full responsibility on what I need to do. But I’ve got no doubt that once I get fully fit and that would have been the same there that I’d have done well. I injured my calf at the start of last season, missed 11 weeks and then yeah couldn’t really get that momentum that you need.
“You ask any footballer anywhere, momentum in football is the biggest thing. You need that consistent game, the trust which I think I’ve got here to go and show the best you can be.”
Fraser has been a central figure under Tony Docherty and was also given the armband on his debut against Aberdeen. He admitted that was big on his decision to return to Tayside because a lot of the time at Hearts he was asked to play out of position.
The former Charlton star explained: “I’d be asked to do a different drill maybe out on the left or things that I wasn’t really used to but I kind of understood because they were obviously flying at the time. So it was tough to get regular game time in the centre of the pitch.
“They changed formation a lot. It would be a four at the back and a three at the back. So that’s probably the most frustrating thing was the calf niggle. I couldn’t really get my fitness going which is why I really wanted to try and get something sorted quicker because I didn’t want to play catch up.”
Dundee’s staff have been working Fraser hard on his fitness to get up to speed because of his late move after the close of the window. The fitness team has put him on a programme and he also got more match fitness as he played the majority of the closed door win over Rangers last week. He is pushing to make his first start against Motherwell this weekend.
Fraser admitted: “They’ve got me on a good programme now where I’m doing extra running. I have to train and extra work with sports science and things to try and sort of get me up to speed as quickly as I can.
“Obviously, I’ll be training every day, which is what I think for me, a player like me, that’s what I need. I need touches on the ball and short sharp things and that.”
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