Hearts loanee turns 'pivotal' star for Premiership rival as his debut performance turns head of manager
The playmaker swapped Hearts for Dundee this summer after limited Tynecastle chances.
Former Hearts captain Steven Pressley has revealed how his summer import from Tynecastle is already making a difference, after his first Dundee start.
The Dark Blues have moved into the new season with the ex Jambos man as their head coach and he earned a 0-0 draw against Kilmarnock on Saturday. At the same ground he made his last Premiership appearance for Hearts, Yan Dhanda started and played 63 minutes of the match at Rugby Park.
Dhanda started his career at Liverpool before a stint with Swansea City preceded time at Ross County, where Hearts picked him up from in 2024. With his Gorgie minutes limited, Pressley has made the move to sign him on loan for the season, and reckons there’s plenty more to come from him as a key star.
Steven Pressley on Yan Dhanda
The Dark Blues head coach said of the ex Swansea City man and Hearts loanee: “He showed great moments and great flashes. Again, he is searching for games, as is Simon Murray just now. He’s missed the first couple of games and these two players are pivotal players for us. Again, like I said, we need to get them fully up to speed. The likes of Cameron Congreve who’s just joined us (from Swansea City), we need to get him up to speed.
“We are still chasing in a number of areas, especially when you look offensively, these are key offensive players. In time, I genuinely good hope for us, considering what I seen from us in terms of resilience.”
A point in Ayrshire moves Pressley’s side onto two points after three games. He added: “It's a good point. We've had a really difficult start to the season, and the games on paper are hard games. The encouraging aspect for us is in all three, we've seen growth in certain areas.
Steven Pressley on Dundee draw versus Kilmarnock
"It was important to come here and get a clean sheet, do the basics of the game well. The one thing you need in a squad is spirit and determination, and I saw that in all our players today. That was really encouraging.
"They showed resilience in abundance. We know we need to improve offensively and with the ball, and I think that will come with work on the training ground and belief. Results like Saturday give you that belief.
"There is a lot of hard work ahead of us. We have shown some green shoots, and a spirit and determination I'm really proud of. In terms of where we want to get to, we're still a million miles away. We're very close on a couple [more players]. I'm hopeful we can get them in in the coming week."