Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McCann likely to face SFA action
DUNDEE boss Neil McCann is set to be in hot water with the SFA after he appeared to strike St Johnstone’s Zander Clark following a post-match scuffle at Dens.
Tensions between the two dugouts overflowed after the final whistle of the Dark Blues’ horrendous 4-0 beating by their Tayside neighbours.
Saints substitute goalie Clark grabbed the Dens gaffer after Neil refused to shake kitman Manny Fowler’s hand. When Clark didn’t let go, Neil appeared to slap the big goalie.
Video then shows trouble breaking out in the tunnel with Neil and assistant Graham Gartland at the heart of it, unhappy with some of the celebrations from St Johnstone.
That’s likely to see the SFA take action against the Dundee management and also Saints keeper Clark and could result in a touchline ban.
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright, meanwhile, insists his side did nothing wrong.
He said: “They were waiting for us at the end, it was like a throwback to when I played in a pub team.
“I’m disappointed it has happened and to feel we have done something wrong because we did nothing wrong.
“We don’t have a problem in terms of discipline of staff.
“It has been a problem for them, I think twice he’s (Gartland) been sent off this year.
“It was mild compared to what it was when we were here the last time.
“The disappointing thing is it will detract from what a great performance it was.”
Neil, though, says he was merely trying to get Clark to let go and that no slap or punch was thrown.
He said: “The spat at the end, I was a bit fired up.
“I was controlled during the match but I have gone over and words were exchanged.
“One of their players had his hands on me and wouldn’t let go.
“I asked him to let go and he wouldn’t.
“It took me a wee bit of time to calm down and walk away from it.
“But when somebody puts their hands on you and you ask them to remove them and they don’t do it then it is hard just to back off of that.
“I put my hands up to grab Zander to say get his hands off me.
“Then I retracted them because I had started to regain my composure.”
When asked if he caught Clark’s face, McCann said: “I caught him in the face — because I have gone to grab him.
“The video can show what you want but there was no slap, punch or nothing like that.
“I put my hand up to say let me go then I pulled it away because clearly that wasn’t the way to go.
“Maybe if my players had shown the same type of fight then I wouldn’t have got that performance.”
When asked about the later scuffle in the tunnel caught by the television cameras, Neil refused to comment. He said: “Is there? By who? “If you weren’t in the tunnel then you don’t need to know then do you?
“No comment.”