Bonetti plans to sue two of his players

There was more action off the pitch at Pittodrie than on it last night with Ivano Bonetti, Dundee's Italian manager, revealing that legal proceedings have begun in Italy to sue two of his players for defamation of character.

Patrizio Billio and Marco di Marchi, who have been frozen out at Dens Park, were strongly critical of their treatment on Italian television, and an irate Bonetti, after a mediocre, goalless draw against Aberdeen, revealed: ''I have spoken to my lawyer to clear my name, that of my brother, and the club.

''What these players said was untrue, but this makes it more difficult to attract Italian players to this club. I will do everything possible to clean up our image. I know they have been busy back home drumming up support from the Italian parliament.''

On the pitch, if Steve Milne had taken two clear-cut chances which fell to him in the opening minute, then Aberdeen's prospects of ending a record of nine years without a league win on their own patch against the Tayside club would have disappeared. The experience of their Danish goalkeeper, Peter Kjaer, denied the young striker on both occasions, and although Dundee dictated for most of the first half, they were unable to gain reward for their superiority.

Aberdeen's passing and movement were so uncharacteristically sluggish that Derek Whyte, their captain, observed that he thought some of his team-mates had been sleepwalking.

However, Aberdeen awoke to their task on the re-start and, with the initiative wrestled from their grasp, Bonetti blatantly settled for a point. In part, his negative strategy, pulling 10 players behind the ball and relying on a rare counter-attack, was understandable as fatigue was clearly a factor because of the recent fixture congestion.

Aberdeen also encountered an inspired goalkeeper in Julian Speroni. The lithe Argentine produced two outstanding saves, from Fergus Tiernan and Derek Young, to deny the rampant home side and inspire his weary team-mates.

''I'm more concerned about the chances we missed than the ones that he [Speroni] saved, although they were magnificent,'' said Bonetti. ''If we'd got those two in the opening minutes the match was over We dominated the first half and should have tied things up then. Aberdeen came back strongly and they are a good team, specifically at Pittodrie. When I saw my team was in difficulties, I changed our system. I'm satisfied, it was a good point.

''If we win the two matches which are outstanding then a place in the top six of the SPL is there for us. But I think this is a battle which could go right to the end of the season.''

In an effort to inject much-needed aggression into his attack, Ebbe Skovdahl, the Aberdeen manager, brought on Darren Mackie for Eugene Dadi, who been but a peripheral figure in the first period. The Dane was rewarded with the first move of genuine quality. Guntveit and Derek Young combined to release Tiernan with time and space. Speroni could only parry his powerful, angled drive, but before Winters could snap up the loose ball, the Argentine keeper had scooped it from his feet with a remarkable display of reflexes and agility.

Ketsbaia was cautioned for illegally halting a foray by Kevin McNaughton as the home side's momentum gathered, then Bonetti switched Caballero for Kemas and Romano for Milne in an attempt to restore their authority in a mediocre contest.

It proved but temporary with the sharper passing of Aberdeen dragging Dundee's defence apart, and Guntveit, Winters and Mackie should have at least hit the target with free headers from close range.

Although the opportunity to enhance their chances of a place in Europe was spurned, Skovdahl was philosophical at the outcome. ''We had chances to score in the second half but didn't take any of them,'' the Dane noted. ''We began the game very sloppily and I would have liked to see us do better. But we knew it would be difficult to beat Dundee, because they pull bodies behind the ball, then rely on breaking on the counter-attack. My players were aware of this and were only caught out once.

''However, they didn't get the width needed to penetrate and cut open their system. But this is great experience for the youngsters, because this was exactly the type of game that you encounter when playing a European tie at home. We will learn a lot from this.

''It could have been three points, but better one than none at all.''