Dundee

Celtic began their Scottish Premiership title defence with a narrow home victory as Benjamin Nygren's header downed Dundee.

Read the match report here.

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Dundee boss Steven Pressley tells BBC Scotland: "I'm exceptionally proud of the group. We're in a real transitional moment.

"We were incredibly brave with the ball and without the ball. Also, I couldn't be prouder of how hard they worked tonight.

"It was an exceptional performance and one we can certainly build on. I was really pleased. I was truly proud of the players' performance.

"Our two centre-backs were outstanding tonight, but we do need depth in that area."

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Celtic are without the suspended Liam Scales as well as long-term absentee Jota (knee).

Dundee allowed Aaron Donnelly to join Dunfermline on loan last week, leaving them with only Ryan Astley and Owen Bevan in central defence.

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• Martin O'Neill has won four of his five league openers as Celtic manager, with the only exception a 0-0 draw with Dunfermline in 2003-04.

• This is just the second time in Celtic's history they have opened a league campaign on a Monday. The previous instance was in 1921-22, beating Raith Rovers 4-0.

• Reigning Scottish champions have won on matchday one in the past 14 seasons by an aggregate score of 43-7 since Rangers drew 1-1 with Hearts in 2011-12. Celtic have won their opener in the past 14 occasions they have started a season as champoins since a 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock in 2007-08.

• Dundee haven't won their opening match in any of their past six Scottish Premiership campaigns (D3 L3) since a 3-1 victory over Ross County in 2016-17.

• Celtic have won 23 of the past 24 occasions they have played at home on matchday one of a league season, drawing the other 0-0 with Kilmarnock in 2007-08.

• Dundee have lost 23 of their past 25 away games at Celtic in all competitions (D2) since a 2-0 win in May 2001 under Ivano Bonetti.

• Celtic have never lost in seven previous instances of facing Dundee on the opening day of a league season (W4 D3), winning their past three in a row, most recently in 1986-87 (1-0).

We asked for your views on head coach Steven Pressley signing a new deal with Dundee.

Here is a selection of your replies:

Richie: Delighted to see him sign another contract. Would have liked more commitment from club and Steven with longer deal, but it clearly suits both parties. I like what I see with Pressley, Dundee need guys like him.

Craig: I like him. He's progressing the club and has an eye for a player. Look at how much Luke Graham improved over last season. Many young players improving under his guidance too. I hope we bring in a few and we can look forward to a couple of decent seasons with Mr Pressley at the helm.

Jim: The fans have warmed to Steven after a job well done in the end last season. Don't think the feeling is mutual though and feel like Pressley still holds a grudge for the murmurs of discontent at the beginning of last season. Let's home he can get over it and we all improve as one this season.

Roberto: Deserved it. And if he can get eighth again then they should up it further.

Martin: It makes sense the manager has a new contract, he is good for the club. It makes absolutely no sense that we find ourselves woefully short in central defence. Yes, Luke Graham had to go, but there was no need to sell Billy Koumetio and now Aaron Donnelly has been shipped out. Our owners have a lot to answer for but, as usual, they are mute.

Carl: Congrats Mr Pressley on your signing a new contract. After joining amid a lot of noise from some impatient, frustrated supporters, which you handled in dignified fashion, and rebuilding the team and backroom staff while implementing your style and formation of play which suited our players, we finished last season in a secure position. The more patient supporters know none of this could have been easy for you, and we all trust and hope that you successfully continue to improve our team in the top league.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dundee midfielder Drey Wright says it's "brilliant news" that head coach Steven Pressley has agreed a new contract.

Pressley replaced Tony Docherty in June 2025 and guided Dundee to an eighth-place finish in the Scottish Premiership last season.

"That continuity will only be beneficial for the club," Wright said of Pressley's new deal.

"I said a number of times last year how much I enjoyed working under him and the messages coming across from other players was very similar. So I think it's only a good thing for the club, for him, for us as players.

"He's always been really honest with us, and with you guys, and from early on he made it quite simple. It was going to be a lot of hard work, it was going to take time, so if you take that at face value then it was proved right.

"But we were all obviously reaping the benefits of that, but towards the back end of the season, that progress that we went through as a team was really evident.

"In terms of football side of things, he's just calm. He's very calm, gets his point across when he needs to. That calmness gives everyone the platform to just relax and go about their business and get on with your job at the end of the day.

"And then, away from the pitch, he treats you like a human being rather than just a player that plays for him. I've had a few instances where I've needed to go and speak to him about certain things and he's always been absolutely fine with it."

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley says it would have been wrong to hold Aaron Donnelly back from his move to Dunfermline Athletic despite admitting it leaves him short in defence against Celtic on Monday as he had told the 23-year-old defender he was not in his plans. (The Courier, external)

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Steven Pressley has signed a new contract as Dundee head coach, with managing director John Nelms expressing his delight that the former Scotland defender "will be staying at the club".

Was there any doubt that he would, with or without a new deal? He remains on a 12-month rolling contract.

A pleased Pressley himself believes it is the "right decision" and revealed it was "something that had been discussed for a while".

However, he warned that "there will be "pain ahead" as he continues to rebuild his squad for the season ahead.

Give us your thoughts on Pressley's new deal and their prospects for the new season.

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New Stoke City defender Luke Graham says his move to the club is a definite step up and the "perfect place" to make him a better player.

The 22-year-old arrived at the Potters at the start of the month from Scottish Premiership side Dundee, where he came through the youth set-up.

Graham won both the players' player and young player of the year awards at Dens Park last season in a breakthrough campaign that featured 41 appearances in all competitions.

"This feels like the next logical step," Graham told BBC Radio Stoke, having had time to settle in during pre-season.

"Working with the coaching staff on the pitch every day, it's only going to make me a better player."

Despite finishing an ultimately disappointing 17th last season, Stoke had one of the best defences in the second tier - conceding just 56 goals - with only the top four teams letting in fewer.

And Graham said that shows he is in the right place to improve.

"Coaching aside, the players you've got in the defensive areas are top, top players and you know there's real good competition at the back to try to get in the team every week," the Scot added.

"I think that's what edges you to give that extra 10% in training, because of that competition. It's no surprise why that defence did so well last season.

"I've played in every division in Scotland so that next step was coming here and playing in the Championship and trying to take my game to the next level.

"I think this is a perfect place to do that."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has been talking to the media before his side's opening Scottish Premiership match of the season away to champions Celtic on Monday.

Here are the key points:

• Pressley feels he is about four players short of a "complete squad". He would like to add two defenders with more experience - and also two more attack-minded players. The club are working hard on bringing players in.

• Having lost some key players this summer, including Luke Graham and goalkeeper Jon McCracken, Pressley admits replacing them will be "really, really hard".

• Facing Celtic on Monday in the season opener is an "enormous" challenge, with Pressley stressing the Glasgow side "haven't lost an opening-day fixture at home for nearly 76 years" before adding "but I also like those challenges".

• He says Martin O'Neill is "without doubt the right choice" to be managing Celtic and is not surprised at the veteran's permanent appointment.

• Pressley welcomes the new rule that allows 15-year-olds to play in the Premiership, saying "anything that enhances the development of our young players is a positive move".

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Dunfermline Athletic have signed Dundee centre-half Aaron Donnelly on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old, who has one cap for Northern Ireland, started two of the Dens Park side's Premier Sports Cup group games and came off the bench in another.

But now he will look to help Neil Lennon's side repeat his feat with Dundee in 2023-24, when he helped the Dark Blues win promotion to the Scottish Premiership.

Donnelly turned professional with Nottingham Forest in 2019 and made his only senior appearance three years later.

However, he found regular first-team football on loan to Port Vale, Dundee and Colchester United before he returned to Dens Park permanently in January 2025.

However, he made only three appearances last season and has made just 20 appearances for Dundee overall since his return.

Dunfermline point out that, although rimarily a left-sided centre-back, he can also ply left-back and right-back.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

To say last season was a rollercoaster for Dundee is an understatement. The number of ups and downs would put fairground rides to shame.

However, it was ultimately a relatively successful campaign as Steven Pressley's rebuilt squad finished a creditable eighth, delivering a good brand of football along the way.

The challenge this time round is to build on, and better, what they achieved last term.

Once again he is having to preside over a significant squad turnaround with a host of key players, like Luke Graham, Tony Yogane, Cameron Congreve and Jon McCracken having departed.

But having proved he has an eye for a player over the past 12 months, the Dark Blues faithful will be hoping Pressley can show that quality again by assembling a group capable of challenging for a top-six place.

One thing that is very different for the head coach this time round is he has the fans on his side, something that wasn't the case following his surprise appointment last summer.

Whether that continues will of course be determined by results. Dundee certainly appear to have discovered their scoring touch early on having rattled in 14 goals in their four League Cup group games - more than any other team.

And they will be hoping that is a sign of things to come. They will need to be clinical in front of goal, and tight at the back, when they open their league campaign with the toughest of tests - away to champions Celtic on Monday night.

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

It's a tough one to call at the moment as we're yet to complete our transfer business. So at the time of writing I'm going to say seventh. I think we built solid foundations last season, which will propel us to improve on last season's eighth-placed finish.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

I don't think our best signing of the summer has arrived yet, I think it should be a midfielder who looks capable of pulling strings and subsequently allowing other midfielders to play in a more advanced role. That would be the missing piece in this team. Ben Stanway from Partick Thistle comes to mind.

What do you want from your manager this season?

A trophy will always be my first answer but we'd be delighted with a good cup run. We've not been in a major semi-final since 2006, we've been in a good habit of breaking records under Steven Pressley and this one is probably the most desirable.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

Charlie Reilly and Joe Bevan look very sharp and I'm struggling to separate them in terms of who will have the spotlight more, so I'll make them a package deal since they flourished as a pairing previously at Albion Rovers. They've got big boots to fill with the departures of Cameron Congreve and Tony Yogane but Pressley fancies them to step up to the task and for very good reason.

What is your one major concern?

The main concern is how light the squad looks at the moment, one or two injuries could seriously throw us out of balance ahead of the league campaign kicking off. The new signings look encouraging thus far but we still require more reinforcements.

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Steven Pressley said his Dundee team looked "a little bit tired" and "a little bit laboured" despite scoring four times to beat lower-league Clyde.

The Premiership club were goalless at half-time at Dens Park but managed to break the visitors down after the interval to progress from the League Cup groups.

Despite league action not starting until next weekend, Pressley referenced that Saturday's match was Dundee's 11th game of the campaign, including friendlies and the four League Cup group fixtures.

"I thought we looked a little bit tired, a little bit laboured in our performance," the head coach told BBC Scotland.

"This was our 11th game since returning back for pre-season and we've been quite reliant on a lot of the same players, although we've tried to rotate the group, we haven't got the biggest of groups.

"There were some tired legs out there. Our intention has always been to be off Sunday, Monday of this week, with the game being the following Monday.

"It's much needed. Not only the players, but I think some of the staff are really tired. It's been quite an intense period for us."

Dundee's next action is their first Premiership fixture of the season at the home of defending champions Celtic on Monday, 3 August (19:30 BST).

And Pressley has backed his players to be primed for the challenge that awaits them in a daunting league opener.

"All our games were very competitive against Celtic last year," he added. "I've already told the players the challenge in hand.

"Celtic haven't lost, I don't think, an opening day home game for 76 years, so that in itself tells you the challenge ahead.

"But we like a challenge. We need to do a lot better than we did today if we're going to get the result, but we'll work hard this week and hopefully we can go there and perform in the manner that I believe we can."

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Crystal Palace goalkeeper Owen Goodman has joined Dundee on a season-long loan on his return from the World Cup with Canada.

The London-born 22-year-old was called up to the senior squad for the first time in November and, after ending the domestic campaign on loan to Barnsley in League One, was one of the hosts' three goalkeepers at the summer tournament.

Jon McCracken, last season's first choice, left Dundee for Bradford City this summer and Goodman has been brought in to challenge Kieran O'Hara for the number one jersey.

Goodman told his club website: "It's a big league, the Scottish Premiership. There's some big games. When Dundee came in, it was just something I had to go for.

"I'm excited for a new challenge and the next step in my career and I'm happy to try something new."

Goodman, who is ineligible to face Clyde in Saturday's Premier Sports Cup game, came through the Palace youth ranks and joined Colchester United on loan in 2023.

He had another loan spell in League Two with Wimbledon, winning the division's golden glove and helping them win the play-off final and promotion.

Goodman started last season on loan to Huddersfield Town, making 12 appearances, before starting 22 games for Barnsley in the second half of the season.

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Dundee centre-half Charley Oosenbrugh has signed a new three-year contract after the 17-year-old was promoted to the Scottish Premiership club's first-team squad this summer.

The Dundee academy product made his senior debut against Kilmarnock in May, coming on as a second-half substitute.

This season, he has featured as a replacement in Premier Sports Cup victories over Airdrieonians and Annan Athletic.

Oosenbrugh told the club website: "Being at the club since I was a young boy, Dundee is all I know. I feel like I can now improve even more and build into the first team, that's my goal.

"The gaffer has given me the opportunity this pre-season and during the league cup games. He's been massive for me, he's always giving me little details I can work on and he's helped massively."

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Dundee boss Steven Pressley lamented his side's lack of control after a League Cup group draw with third-tier Ross County allowed the lower-league side to snatch a bonus point from the Premiership club.

Finlay Robertson's first-half opener was cancelled out by Brian Graham's second-half strike before County came out on top on spot-kicks.

It means Pressley's side's hopes of progression are in the balance as they currently sit second in Group D, one point behind leaders County.

"I thought we started the opening period reasonably well - the first 20 minutes we were quite fluent in our play," Pressley said.

"We had good control of the game and we got in behind them on quite a number of occasions, something that we really wanted to do.

"But after we scored, we seemed to lose control and we never really got it back.

"In the end, although the game finished tied, the reality was probably that Ross County, over the piece, were the better side."