Pre-season Following Dundee's relegation the season prior, the club initiated a number of fundamental changes to the structure of the football department. After previously working mostly with the Youth Academy, Dundee's Technical Director
Gordon Strachan would take a more active role with the first team going into the season. On 8 June 2022,
Gary Bowyer was named as the new Dundee manager, with
Billy Barr named as assistant manager. The club would also look to hire a Head of Recruitment to complete their structure, and would move the day-to-day operations of the club from
Dens Park to
Dundee and Angus College's Gardyne Campus.
July Dundee would start their competitive season off with a comfortable 3–0 win over fellow Championship side
Hamilton Academical in the League Cup group stages. They would repeat this scoreline the following week down south against
Stranraer. This would mark the first time since 2009 in which Dundee had won back-to-back games by a scoreline of 3 or more goals to nil. Dundee continued their positive start away to Championship rivals
Queen's Park with a 1–2 win. They would cap off an impressive group stage campaign with a dominant 5–1 win over
Forfar Athletic. Despite their strong start to the season, Dundee would struggle badly in the league opener against
Partick Thistle, scoring 2 late goals but still losing 2–3.
August After a disappointing start to the league campaign, the Dee would recover with an away clean sheet win over
Raith Rovers. They would continue their momentum with a gritty and impressive win over
Arbroath to go top of the table, on an emotional night which commemorated the recently passed Dundee legend
Pat Liney. Dundee could not keep up the same momentum the following week at
Cappielow however, having to settle for a goalless draw against
Morton. Any sense of positive momentum would end with a hapless defeat to league leaders
Ayr United at
Somerset Park. Dundee would bounce back with a comfortable win over
Scottish League One side
Falkirk to reach the quarter-finals of the
Scottish League Cup for the second consecutive year.
September Dundee would notch their second consecutive 3–0 win, dispatching
Queen's Park at home with ease with a brace from
Zach Robinson. Dundee's game against
Cove Rangers was postponed after the death of
Queen Elizabeth II. Despite controlling much of the game at home to
Inverness CT, Dundee gave away slack goals and once again lost at home in frustrating fashion. The following week, Dundee would play their first competitive fixture outside of Scotland since the
2003–04 season in the
UEFA Cup when they journeyed south to face
Welsh champions
The New Saints in the
Scottish Challenge Cup, and would win comfortably in a match that would also mark
Paul McGowan's 300th appearance for the
Dark Blues.
October In a visit to
New Douglas Park, Dundee would emerge victorious in a testy affair with
Hamilton Academical that should have been more comfortable. Being their usual inconsistent selves however, Dundee thoroughly disappointed in an embarrassing defeat away to part-time
Cove Rangers just a few days later. They would again fail to defeat part-time opposition in the following match away to
Arbroath, having to settle for a point instead. They would finally get back on track the next week with a home victory over high-flying
Ayr United, moving up to 4th in the process. A daunting trip to
Ibrox Stadium followed, and despite a battling performance they would be knocked out of the
Scottish League Cup by
Rangers by a tight 1–0 scoreline. A few days later, ten-man Dundee would have to settle for a scoreless point at home to
Greenock Morton in a wet and dreary affair. To cap off a busy month, Dundee scraped a lucky point away to
Queen's Park after going behind twice.
November The month started off improbably for Dundee they came back from a two-goal deficit against
Partick Thistle to win in dramatic fashion at
Firhill Stadium. They would continue this positive momentum the following week, with
Zach Robinson running the show and scoring both goals in a big home win over in-form
Raith Rovers. Dundee would make it 7 league games unbeaten and 3 wins in a row next as they defeated bottom side
Hamilton Academical 1–0 at Dens. The Dees were given a scare in the
Scottish Cup the following week by
Scottish League One side
Airdrieonians, but 7 substitutes and an Airdrie red card helped Dundee dominate
extra time, scoring four goals to end up with a convincing-looking 6–2 win. After a successful month in which the club won all their games, manager
Gary Bowyer was named the
Scottish Championship Manager of the Month, and
Paul McMullan as the Championship's Player of the Month.
December The winning and unbeaten streak continued with a landmark victory, as Dundee defeated
Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Highlands in a league game for the first time in their history via a goal from in-form
Paul McMullan, marking the club's first 4-game win streak in the league since
October 2013. Dundee would keep the momentum up the following Thursday with a comfortable win away to
Falkirk to reach the quarter-finals of the
Challenge Cup, making it 6 straight wins in all competitions. Unfortunately however, their next game against
Cove Rangers would be postponed after ice and snow caused stadium and pitch damage to
Dens Park. Dundee would end the year with yet more cheer, topping the league for Christmas after a double by
Luke McCowan against his former club
Ayr United clinched a win to pip the
Honest Men to top spot despite an early straight red for
Josh Mulligan, marking Dundee's seventh consecutive win in all competitions, their first such run since
February 1974, as well as their fourth consecutive league clean sheet, and fifth in their last 6 games in all competitions.
January Dundee's momentum came to a screeching halt in the new year, and despite coming back from 2 goals and a man down they would suffer defeat against part-time
Arbroath, knocking them off top spot. It took a late equaliser from
Jordan McGhee to snatch a point at
Stark's Park four days later. Dundee would have a home stretch planned, but issues with a now waterlogged
Dens Park resulted in three call-offs during the month. After a two-week period without a game, Dundee would match
Scottish Premiership club
St Mirren evenly in the
Scottish Cup before being knocked out on penalties. They would finally play a home game the following Tuesday in the
Scottish Challenge Cup quarter-finals, defeating
League One leaders
Dunfermline Athletic (managed by former Dundee boss
James McPake) to progress to the semi-finals in a high-scoring affair. Despite being dogged by injuries and disjointed by squad changes, Dundee comfortably beat league leaders
Queen's Park to end the month on a high note.
February Dundee opened up the month in frustrating fashion, failing to capitalise on chances and having to settle for a point against bottom side (albeit in good form)
Hamilton Accies. They then somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the Challenge Cup semi-final against Raith Rovers, going out on penalties after leading by multiple goals late on. The club would return to winning ways in their following match, a comfortable 3–0 victory over
Cove Rangers. However, they would once again falter against bogey team
Greenock Morton, losing 1–0 at
Cappielow. The inconsistent form would continue the following week at home to
Inverness CT, where a fluke goal conceded and doing everything but scoring the winning goal (despite having a good goal chopped off due to incompetent refereeing) led to a very disappointing draw and Dundee falling further behind in the title race. Their bottle completely crashed in their game in hand at home to
Partick Thistle, being handily beaten in a dismal performance.
March Dundee started March with a much-needed win away to
Cove Rangers to close the gap at the top to two points ahead of a two-week hiatus. Dundee started their final round of fixtures flatly with a drab goalless affair away to Partick Thistle, which left them seven points behind the league leaders. In their game in hand four days later though, Dundee stepped up in a big win over promotion rivals
Ayr United to close the gap back to four points whilst opening an equal-sized gap on the 3rd placed
Honest Men. At the end of the month, manager
Gary Bowyer was named
Scottish Championship Manager of the Month.
April The Dee started the month off with a bang, battering bottom side and new
Challenge Cup champions
Hamilton Academical 7–0, including a hat-trick from midfielder
Lyall Cameron. This proved to be their largest margin of victory since a
League Cup group stage win over
Forfar Athletic on
30 July 2016, and the largest margin of victory in a league match since an 0–8 away win over
Falkirk on
22 January 1977. In front of a packed
Gayfield Park the following week, Dundee could only manage a point in a goalless draw with
Arbroath which nevertheless put them top of the league on goal difference with a game in hand. They followed up with a massive win over
Raith Rovers at Dens in said game in hand to stretch their lead at the top to three points with 4 games to go. In another tough encounter with their bogey team
Greenock Morton, Dundee grabbed a last-gasp equaliser at Dens to snatch a point. They would keep their unbeaten streak going in
Inverness, but left frustrated after losing a lead that would have helped their title charge massively after playing well and had to settle with a draw up in the Highlands to maintain their slender lead at the top with two games to go. They would blow an even bigger opportunity to take control of the league by failing to beat bottom side
Cove Rangers, leaving the title to a final game showdown at
Ochilview Park against
Queen's Park where a draw or win would see them crowned as champions.
May Prior to the title-deciding game, Dundee winger
Paul McMullan was nominated for the
PFA Scotland Championship Player of the Year after scoring 7 goals and providing 11 assists in the league this season. In an epic and chaotic encounter at
Ochilview Park on 5 May, Dundee weathered the storm against
Queen's Park and won the league with a frenetic and unforgettable 3–5 victory which secured promotion back to the
Scottish Premiership on the first attempt. This would mark the first time since
February 2017 that Dundee would score 5 away goals in a competitive fixture, and the last of those goals marked Dundee's 100th goal in competitive fixtures during the 2022–23 season. Manager
Gary Bowyer was announced as the
SPFL Scottish Championship Manager of the Year on 10 May 2023. Later that day, Dundee announced that they would part ways with Bowyer and assistant manager
Billy Barr. Bowyer would leave Dundee as the permanent manager with the highest overall win percentage in the club's history. == Competitions ==