Clark Robertson is feeling “strong” and desperate for more action after coming through his belated Dundee debut unscathed.

Having picked up a hamstring injury in July, the 31-year-old finally defender made his first appearance for Tony Docherty’s side in last weekend’s home defeat to former club Aberdeen.

Robertson played the full 90 minutes and earned the praise of manager Docherty, leaving him full of enthusiasm for Saturday’s visit from Kilmarnock.

“I’m buzzing to be back,” he said. “It was frustrating to pick up an injury in pre-season and I obviously had a long road back with the physios.

“I had two weeks training and I played in a reserve game before the Aberdeen game and I felt I was ready to play. The manager put me in and I felt good.

“I was just glad to get through the game with no problems, that gives me confidence. I feel strong.

“It was a bittersweet day for me. The result wasn’t great but I was just buzzing to get back after 12 weeks out to come back and put in a decent performance, albeit without winning the game.”

Both sides go into Saturday’s match struggling for results and in the bottom six of the Premiership, with Dundee having won none of their last five and Killie without a victory in seven.

Docherty believes both teams – who finished in the top six last term – are playing better than their results suggest and expects a compelling encounter at Dens Park.

“We had a really strong performance last week that merited us picking up points, but we never,” he said. “That was the only negative. I’m expecting a really tough game from Kilmarnock.

“If I’m a fan I would choose to go to this game because I know from previous meetings the level of entertainment and competitiveness we’ll get between two good technical teams with good playing styles.”