Dee board taking a massive gamble

THE Dundee board are taking a gamble they need to come off after showing Paul Hartley the door in a late bid to stave off relegation.

It’s a decision that could come back to haunt them but from their point of view they had to be seen to do something to arrest the slide that looked like heading at least into the relegation play-off.

Hartley is still a good manager and the overall job he did at Dens was decent but it’s been such a poor spell recently.

His ideas and tactics just haven’t been working for the situation Dundee are in and there was a sense of desperation around him of late which can in turn affect the players.

There didn’t look to be any light at the end of the tunnel for Dundee fans but maybe with a new man in charge, they might get the lift they need to survive.

Even if a new boss just gets them two wins, the board will have been vindicated because that’ll just about see them right, I reckon.

The American owners have been talking of the prospect of a new stadium in the near future.

Surely they have to stay in the Premiership if that’s to come about — the loss of income from a drop down may well put that way down the list of priorities.

Just a new voice and a change of routine might be enough to re-energise the team and see them safe, though.

The one good thing they have at the moment is that they have a bit of time with a break this coming weekend.

That means they don’t necessarily need to rush into appointing a new man.

It’s about getting the balance between a short-term lift to keep them up this season but also getting the right man for the long term.

A lot of the time when a new manager comes in, it gives the players a lift.

They are suddenly playing for their places again and there’s an added competition in training around the place.

It’s something which shouldn’t happen but it does.

You wonder why players haven’t given the same amount of effort for the previous manager but it just seems to be human nature.

That’s the gamble John Nelms and his board are taking at Dens.

Hopefully, it pays off for them.

Paul Hartley left the Dundee manager’s role yesterday after the Dens board relieved him of his duties.