Dundee aim to keep winning habit

After winning their opening two games without conceding a goal, Dundee travel to Hibernian today in the unusual position of leading the Old Firm at the summit of the Scottish Premier League.

After winning their opening two games without conceding a goal, Dundee travel to Hibernian today in the unusual position of leading the Old Firm at the summit of the Scottish Premier League.

Despite his side's new-found lofty status, the Dundee midfielder Javier Artero wants his team-mates to retain a sense of perspective. "We have started the season very well by winning two games and we are happy, but it doesn't mean anything yet," Artero said. "We thought we would start well but if we lose [against Hibernian] we won't be thinking about where we are in the league.

"I think the coach and the players work very well together and [the Dundee manager] Ivano Bonetti has brought in new players, such as Fabian Caballero and Juan Sara, who have done very well.

"We know this game against Hibs will be difficult and that they have a very good team but we will be looking for a win."

Elsewhere, the Motherwell manager, Billy Davies, is insisting the club must wait to reap the benefits of their belatedly improving youth development programme.

Speaking ahead of his side's visit to Dundee United, Davies said: "We lost a few years at the club in terms of bringing young players through and that is something we are trying to fix. We are doing a lot with the 15 to 18 age group, but we are not as well served in the 18 to 22 category and that is a direct result of things not being put in place four or five years ago.

"I would like to think that in two or three years we will start to see the benefits of what we are doing now with these players who are coming through."

Meanwhile the St Johnstone manager, Sandy Clark, believes his side's meeting at Dunfermline will offer full entertainment for the spectators as both teams chase their first victory of the season.

The Perth club were unlucky not to have taken at least a point at Rangers on the opening day and threw away a two-goal lead against Hearts at McDiarmid Park last week as they had to settle for a share of the points.

Dunfermline have also got one point from their first two games and so both sides will be fired up to break their ducks.

Clark said: "We feel we've done okay in our first two games, but at the end of the day we've lost points in the league. We can take a lot of things from our performances and I am reasonably happy, but it's all about getting more points.

"There's no easy games in the Scottish Premier League and Dunfermline will make it difficult for us at their place. They have done well in the transfer market during the summer.

"It is really important for both sides to get a win and I'm really looking forward to it because it has all the makings of being a very exciting match."