REAR VIEW MIRROR
Jack’s confident he can nurture more top kids at United after helping likes of Morgan, Maja and Doig hit big time
JACK ROSS knows plenty of out-of-work bosses talk the talk in job interviews about how they can help prospective employers cash in through young talent.
But the Dundee United boss reckons he was able to convince his new paymasters he was the right man for the job after showing he’s walked the walk when it comes to rearing fresh-faced gems.
The Terrors have made no secret of their plans to profit from the club’s youth academy and more senior players recruited on the cheap.
United could bank a fee eventually rising to £2million after selling 17-year-old Kerr Smith to Premier League side Aston Villa in January.
They also added a couple of tidy lump sums to the Tannadice coffers by moving on Lawrence Shankland to Beerschot last August and Jeando Fuchs to Peterborough midway through the season.
Now Ross’ job is to ensure that flow of cash continues after being appointed Tam Courts’ successor.
However, the former Alloa, St Mirren, Sunderland and Hibs boss is confident he can deliver what’s being asked of him by United owner Mark Ogren and sporting director Tony Asghar, having performed a similar task in previous postings. While with the Buddies, he helped develop Lewis Morgan, Kyle McAllister and Stevie Mallan, all of whom went on to generate significant sums for the Paisley club.
Josh Maja’s switch to Bordeaux earned the Black Cats a healthy £3.5m windfall in 2019.
And Ross was influential in developing Josh Doig plus Kevin Nisbet at Hibs, two players expected to generate returns at Easter Road.
He said: “Every single manager and coach who sits in front of a board will always say the right things because they want the job, whether that’s about style of football or bringing in youth players. The good thing for me now is, because I’m this far down the line, I can point to evidence of it.
“At St Mirren I had Lewis, Stevie and Kyle who were all sold by the club.
“At Sunderland we had Josh who went to Bordeaux and Bali Mumba who joined Norwich. Then at Hibs there was Josh, who has come through and done so well.”
Ross says he’s willing to play his part in bringing on the next generation at United.
But he’s adamant that will only be possible if they have the support and guidance of senior, experienced pros alongside them. The 46-yearhis old – who has been assured by Asghar he’ll have the final call on transfers as the club prepare for their return to Europe come August – added: “The understanding for Dundee United to continually be in the part of the league we’re in, you need good, proven players to support it.
“You have to get the balance right and in the conversations we had, there’s an acknowledgement of that.
“Hearts are a good example. Their recruitment has been excellent in the last 12 to 18 months.
“They’ve signed established players a lot of the time and you have to marry that with the players you develop.”