Defender Kevin Holt has not had time to catch his breath since he made the step up to the Premiership from Queen of the South to Dundee.
He has been taken aback by the pace of some of the forwards he has faced, including the November player of the month – St Johnstone’s Michael O’Halloran – and two key performers for today’s opponents Aberdeen, Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn.
The 22-year-old Holt has been working hard with Dark Blues fitness coach Tam Ritchie to get fully up to speed and said: “It has been a big step up – more than I realised. The pace of the game is the biggest thing. Teams at this level turn defence into attack much quicker.
“We have to cope with that as a team but, as an individual, it takes some getting used to.
“Sometimes I feel players are on top of me all the time and I can’t get a breath. If I was having an off-day I might have got through it in the Championship, but not at this level.
“I want to challenge myself against the best players and come up against the likes O’Halloran, Hayes and McGinn.
“Those three are some of the toughest players I have come up against, they are very good.
“The pace they have is the biggest thing and I think I’m coping with it better now. I have been trying to improve and get sharper, because it’s over five yards they react fastest.
“The fitness coaching has been a big help, I’ve been working hard to get up to speed. I’m getting there.
“Over the summer I got the same general fitness back as I had last season but that extra wee bit of sharpness I need at this level is what I’ve been working towards.
“I definitely feel a big difference, but I want to keep improving.”
That desire to progress is being influenced by some of his team-mates, with Holt adding: “Having James McPake and Julen Etxabeguren has been great for me. Last season I had Andy Dowie and Chris Higgins, who are both experienced defenders.
“As a younger player, I need someone to talk me through things. So it’s been good for me to have experienced players here to learn from, I always want to pick things up from the people around me.”