'Can Dundee enhance home stats against Motherwell?'

The festive fixture schedule has certainly not been kind to Dundee. Three of their next five games are on the road - and tough ones too - at Hearts, Rangers and St Mirren.

After last weekend's draw at Kilmarnock, manager Tony Docherty spoke of continuing to try and pick up points on their travels, while trying to make sure they really capitalise on home advantage on the occasions they are strutting their stuff in front of the Dens Park faithful.

This all highlights the importance of making home advantage count - they haven't done that enough this season. In fact, Docherty's team have only won three of the seven league fixtures they have played in the city of discovery, losing a trio of those encounters.

But there is every reason to believe they can sort that out; there are perhaps early signs they already have. They have won their last two games at Dens Park, against Hibs and Kilmarnock, scoring seven goals in the process.

One swallow doesn't make a summer, but they have the chance to further enhance their home stats when Motherwell come calling on Wednesday. And this is a big one for Dundee - if they win they will find themselves back in the top six, and level on points with the Steelmen - a nice place to be before they hit the road again in the coming weeks.