Entertainment is name of the game – Nelms

THE future at Dens Park will be a short one, should the club’s plans of a new stadium at Camperdown Park come to fruition.

Dundee’s managing director John Nelms hopes to be i n “Nou Campy”, as i t ’s b e e n tagged by the fans, by 2020.

With a brand-spanking new home to show off, the Dark Blues will take themselves into the 21st century and the aim of the game for the future of Dundee is entertainment.

Nelms said: “We have a stand that is over 100 years old and we’re not unique in that scenario.

“There’s loads of teams with that issue.

“Anything we can do, not just as Dundee Football Club but as Scottish football, to promote the game, get more people involved and make it as entertaining as possible, is good.

“We are in the entertainment business and football is our medium but in this day and age with all the technology and the attention span we need to always be trying to stay a step ahead but currently we are several steps behind.

“A t D u n d e e w e ’r e constantly trying to get ahead of the curve, we’re not there yet, got a lot of work to get there, new stadium, new training ground.

“Things of that nature brings us closer to where we want to be.

“However, we do need to look at what we can do to hold the attention span of the football fan.

“On top of that, how can we create more football fans?

“I think the product is good, we have very entertaining football.

“I get told many times by friends in England and other places, the games in Scotland, though we don’t always have the technical prowess as higher-paid leagues may have, the intensity i s t here, the drama is there.

“I think the way we can present it, not only in the media and live on TV but what we can do around the game to make it more appetising for the fans is important.

“Ultimately, we want them to have a good time and enjoy themselves and want to come back.”

And the expectations on the pitch in the immediate future are very clear for manager Neil McCann and his players for the coming campaign.

“E v e r y b o d y ’s c l e a r about our expectations, there are no secrets about that,” added Nelms.

“Top six is always our expectation.

“Silverware is always an expectation, we need to get there.

“In our position, it takes time – we have to get everything right and we have to punch above our weight.

“I think we can do that, I think the way we look at things and do things, we can get there.

“Now, it may or may not happen but everybody behind the scenes and then when it comes to a Saturday on a pitch everybody is putting out their best effort.”

Dundee’s managing director John Nelms.