It was the first time I'd scored for my country in a competitive match and I'm hungry for more.

We were disappointed we could only draw but we'll just have to make sure we win the last two games and reach the European Championship.

We had to fight to get a point against Inverness on Saturday after making a decent start to the game.

We created a few good chances then let them back into it and conceded two soft goals.

But once Brian Kerr pulled one back the fans got right behind us and we could have nicked it in the end.

Gary Harkins' goal took a massive deflection to earn the draw, but we'll take that kind of good fortune every week if it helps us to clinch the title.

Some people in the papers were saying how lucky we were.

But Ross County got a similar result against Dunfermline a few weeks ago and it was described as the mark of champions.

Anyway, since Gaz got us an important point I'll give him a break from taking the mickey over his ridiculous hat.

He won the First Division player of the month earlier this year and turned up in what looked like an Eskimo bunnet to collect the trophy.

The boys couldn't allow that to go unnoticed and he's been getting pelters for it ever since.

He really needs to get rid of it; to be fair to him he's not the only one who needs a fashion tip or two - there are a few dodgy dressers at Dens.

David Cowan always wears polo shirts that are about 10 times too wee for him just to show off his muscles.

Then there's Eddie Malone who wears the same cardigan every day I think. John Gibson, who's on loan at Elgin, has some really wild tracksuits.

In fact, that might be why he was sent on loan...

And big Jim Lauchlin thinks he's a smart dresser, and then he turns up for training wearing an Army shirt.

No doubt the boys will give me some stick after these revelations, but it's all good banter.

There's nobody in our dressing room who doesn't get on with each other and when we get down to the nitty gritty we all pull together on the park.

That kind of team spirit is really important. And now we have a new face in the squad in the shape of Bob Malcolm.

Bob's a massive addition: he won SPL titles and cups with Rangers, and knows what's required in the run-in to championships.

If the league goes down to the last day he's got the experience to handle that kind of pressure.

You wouldn't think it if you've watched him play, but he's actually a quiet big guy.

In the changing room he hardly speaks a word. But on the park he turns into the Incredible Hulk.

He doesn't let anything past him and he's a great talker on the park as well.

So wherever the manager decides to play him, I'm sure he'll help everyone around him

As a forward it was a real pleasure to watch Wayne Rooney in action against AC Milan the other night.

He's on a different planet right now and everything he touches turns to gold right now.

He's started adding headers to his game and the composure he had to take his second goal was amazing.

You've got to admire someone like him. When I used to go and watch Hibs as a 13-year-old, Derek Riordan was the player I idolised.

Everything he did was incredible, whether it was scoring goals from 30 yards or three yards.

But, although I respect these players, I don't try to copy their style.

I just try to analyse my own performance and try to do more of the good bits and less of the bad bits.

On Saturday we have a break from the league for the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

Some people might have preferred us not to have to play cup games as well as we go for SPL promotion.

But all the boys see it as a massive chance to get to play a semi-final at Hampden.

To do that we'll have to beat Raith Rovers and I'm expecting a very tough game.

Nobody backed them to win against Aberdeen. But they did, and they'll be coming here without fear.

They'll bring a good support too, but we had another fantastic crowd of 5,000 at Dens last week.

I'd ask the Dundee fans to come out to get behind the boys again.

There have been some good moments, which I'll come to later on.

But most of it was overshadowed by the death of a Dundee FC legend, Bobby Cox, who captained the club to the Scottish League title in 1962.

I knew he had been ill, but didn't know he had passed away until I arrived at the stadium for Saturday's game against Partick Thistle.

I knew he was a famous name for the Dark Blues, but when the stadium announcer read out his achievements and how many times he played for the club - well over 400 - it really hit home what a legend he was.

It was so impressive how many people actually turned up at the game. The Bobby Cox Stand was practically full.

And to see all those people stand and applaud out of respect for Bobby was incredible. The crowd never stopped chanting his name throughout the 90 minutes.

In the dressing room, when we found out about his death, we decided we wanted to win the game for him.

It was a fitting tribute that we managed to do that, and that the goal we scored was in front of the Bobby Cox Stand - and it was our full-back and skipper Eric Paton who scored it.

Hopefully Bobby was up there looking down, and I'm sure he would have been delighted we got the victory.

We know there's still a long way to go, but if we do eventually win the First Division title, we'll dedicate it to him.

As for the game itself, it was a scrappy affair. We dominated the first half and Partick had the better of the second period.

But big Rab Douglas never had a save to make, so that tells you how well our defence played.

We should have scored a couple more, but you'll take 1-0 victories every week if it's going to take you to the title.

Personally, I was pretty disappointed with my performance. I didn't get a shot on target. In fact, I don't think I even managed a single shot, never mind on target!

I set myself high standards and go out aiming to score in every game, and if I don't I can become a bit frustrated.

But the manager Jocky Scott spoke to me this morning and told me it wasn't all about scoring goals, and said he was pleased with my overall contribution to the team.

So if he's saying that, then I'll accept it.

But I'll try and make sure if I get a chance on Saturday against Raith Rovers, I take it.

We've taken four points out of six against them this season but they'll be on a high after beating Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup last week.

So clearly we'll need to be alert as they have proven they can beat anybody on their day.

They are strong in the wide areas, and up front where they have Kevin Smith.

I know well him well and he's played with Sunderland and Dundee United.

He's back to full fitness after a leg-break and has been flying. Hopefully, though, he has an off-day against us!

I said earlier there were some good things last week.

One of them has to do with a letter I got through the door to say I'd been selected for Billy Stark's Scotland Under-21s squad against Azerbaijan.

It's an honour to represent your country at any level and I'll just go along to the squad meeting and see if I can get in the team.

There's a lot of really good players from the SPL competing for the forward positions in the shape of David Goodwillie, Jamie Murphy, Chris Maguire and Rory Loy.

So if I can get a game I'll be delighted, but if not - all the best to whoever does play.

The other good news we got at the club was that big Jim Lauchlan and his wife Susan had a baby.

So he's been coming in every morning raving about wee baby Marcus.

Normally Lauchie's a real character who comes in for training shouting and bawling.

Maybe the baby is keeping him up at night or something, but he's been quite quiet recently...

So, welcome baby Marcus - and thanks for giving all the boys here some welcome relief from your dad!

As you can see it's been a week of real highs and lows.

On Friday the whole squad will go to Bobby Cox's funeral, before making sure we're ready for Saturday's trip to Kirkcaldy.

From now until the end of May I hope to give you an insight into life at Dens Park as we try to get back into the Scottish Premier League.

But first, for those who don't know me... I'm 19 and come from Leith. As an 11-year-old I joined the team I supported - Hibs.

In the meantime, I've also managed to win caps for Scotland at Under-21 and B levels.

Life in Dundee is good now. We're at the top of the First Division and on track to achieve our goal of getting into the top flight.

But moving here has been a new experience for me, not least because I've had to move away from my family home for the first time.

At Livi it was close enough to commute every day, and when I signed at Dens I was still coming through daily from Edinburgh with my team-mates Eddie Malone and Pat Clarke.

But after a while the travelling began to take its toll. So now I'm living up here by myself, which is good because it cuts nearly four hours' travelling out of the day.

Sometimes you can get a bit bored in a flat by yourself but you've just got to deal with it.

Most weekends I'll get home to see my family and some of my pals too, so it's not too bad.

Anyway, the main reason I came here was because Dundee is a big club and I saw we were building a squad that would challenge for the league.

We're doing well just now but obviously we've got to keep the momentum going. Other teams have got games in hand, but if we keep picking up three points then we'll get over the finishing line first.

All the boys were hoping to add another win last Saturday away to Ayr United, after we had beaten them in the Scottish Cup the week before.

We all had our fingers crossed the match would be on, and when we saw Ayr Races were cancelled we had an idea our game would be postponed too.

Everybody wants a game on a Saturday and I'm no different: it's what you train for all week.

But, all the same, when you get a rare weekend off it feels like a bit of a Brucie Bonus. So we went off and enjoyed it.

I got the chance to catch up with some of my friends back home, and for a change I could go to watch my brother playing for Musselburgh Athletic.

I also kept an eye on the other games being played in our league, and thankfully results for two of the teams challenging us for the title - Queen of the South and Ross County - went our way.

But although it's nice to get a Saturday off we're back at Dens Park to knuckle down and concentrate on our next game against Partick Thistle on Saturday.

We've done well against them so far, winning both games 2-0. I scored in the first game but missed the second through illness.

We know any game in this league is going to be hard and, especially after we beat them in Glasgow in December, Thistle will want to prove themselves up here and turn us over.

About the same time I joined from Livi, Gary Harkins arrived from Thistle, and he scored in both games against his old team.

Having a player who knows the other team so well is going to help to a certain extent.

But we've still got to be professional, prepare the right way, and make sure we don't slip up.