The buck$ won’t stop here
McPake says Dark Blues owners are in it for the long haul
JAMES McPAKE insists Dundee’s American owners will continue to bankroll their bid to clinch a top-flight return.
The club posted a £1.82million loss for the year to the end of May 2019, more than four times the figure for the previous 12 months.
But Tim Keyes and John Nelms – who have spent more than £7m in their seven years at Dens Park – vowed to continue to provide financial support.
Boss McPake said: “From day one I’ve watched how they’ve backed managers and every single one has been seriously backed, me included.
“That’s not going to change and that’s a credit to Tim and John. They give the manager the funds and budget to manage and spend it the best way you can.
“They’ve been great with me. I don’t think any manager in the past seven years at this club can have a moan about the budget they’ve had available to them.”
Rivals United look set to wrap up the title but the Dark Blues could finish tonight in second spot should they beat Alloa and playoff foes Inverness and Ayr slip up.
McPake said: “We need to get back to the Premiership. If we’re not promoted, we’re missing out on derbies (next season).
“That’s a big one. Those are the games you look forward to.”
Midfielder Shaun Byrne did not realise how big a club he was joining from Livingston last summer. He said: “The Dundee fans are really demanding but you need to deal with that. It is maybe something we have learned over the last few weeks and months. “But they have also been really good with us. When we are playing well they are right behind us. It is up to us to get them on our side with our performances.” While injured Jordan Marshall is the only absentee for McPake, rival Peter Grant will not know his defence until this afternoon. The Alloa manager said: “Robbie Deas missed out on Saturday’s 2-0 defeat from Ayr as he was injured and is a huge doubt. Both our full-backs came off injured and I’ll not know who is available until we meet up.”