Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Neil — ‘I’m here for the long haul’
DUNDEE boss Neil McCann insists he is going nowhere fast as he aims to turn around the Dark Blues’ stuttering start to the season.
His side currently sit bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership with just a solitary point collected from the first five rounds.
Neil, who took on the role of manager permanently over the summer, saved Dundee from relegation at the back end of last season in a short five-game spell.
Following Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Rangers he says he is in it for the long haul this time.
“It’s a sore lesson I’ll take, like it is for the players, but that’ll not stop me from trying to coach the boys the right way to be prepared to get on the ball and take risks on occasion,” Neil said.
“We were just beaten by a better side so I’m not panicking at all.
“I’d like to think Dundee fans might be unhappy about it, but I’m not in this for five games this time, I’m in it for the long haul and I’ll get it right.”
A Faissal El Bahktaoui strike on 90 minutes wasn’t enough for Dundee as a double from Alfredo Morelos and goals from Josh Windass and Carlos Pena secured a home victory.
However, Neil was pleased with the effort the ex-Pars man and the rest of his side showed throughout.
“We had a real good chance with Roarie and Moussa’s got a chance at the back post that could have had us level.
“It’s an old cliche but if you don’t take your chances at Celtic or Rangers then you can be liable to being punished.
“What I won’t do though is be overly critical on my boys because I asked them to be brave on Saturday.
“We’ve got a poor record at Ibrox stretching back to 2001 since the last time we won.
“I said that we would try to play attractive football and be open, I could’ve played all experienced guys and be hard to beat and nick something on the break but I felt the boys could perform.
“Faissal can be electric and I thought he deserved his goal because he worked ever so hard and I had to move him around a couple of positions.
“He’s a goal threat, he just needs to settle himself down a bit, he’s a little bit erratic but that’s when good players and top players go calm in those situations and make the right decision.”