‘This will be the McPake needs to

DUNDEE legend Bobby Glennie reckons boss James McPake needs to prove himself in the Dens Park hot seat next season.

Rookie gaffer McPake led the Dark Blues to a third-place finish in the Championship in a debut campaign cut short by the coronavirus.

It seemed the 36-year-old’s side were gathering some momentum on a six-match unbeaten run towards the end of what was a difficult first term.

Dee Hall of Fame centre-back Glennie’s challenge to McPake is to find that consistency throughout his second season in charge.

“I think this will be the season where he needs to prove himself,” the 62-year-old said.

“I hope it does work out for him because he’s had a tough first year at it.

“The second year is usually the hardest but I hope he gets the right blend of players he wants to get that consistency.

“He’ll need to bring in a bit more quality but, the way he speaks, he seems to get the backing of the board anyway.”

Glennie, who made more than 300 appearances in dark blue from 1978-88, concedes strengthening his squad could be a tough task despite McPake’s strong relationship with John Nelms and Tim Keyes.

No 2 Jimmy Nicholl and sports scientist Cammy McDermid recently became the first victims of cost-cutting at Dens, while captain Josh Meekings left after rejecting the new terms offered to him as his old team-mates consider a request from Nelms to take salary reductions. However, Glennie still thinks the aim of a club the size of Dundee should be promotion.

He continued: “I wish him the best of luck because it’s tough times for them losing money.

“That’s only going to continue with no people through the gate, no hospitality – just no money at all really.

“The better you do, though, the more supporters that come through the gate.

“Hopefully they have a successful season and they get that backing from the season ticket holders.

“They need to get behind them to get them back up again. Dundee should be in the top division, they’re a big enough club.”

Doing so will be easier said than done, however, with Hearts and others like Ayr, Dunfermline and Inverness all vying for the division’s top spots.

“It’s hard to get out of that

Bobby Glennie James McPake (above) will be looking to win promotion with his Dundee