Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Dee hoping to have last laugh with jovial Bowyer
GARY Bowyer is now clear favourite to land the Dundee job after a lengthy recruitment process.
It’s been more than three weeks since Mark McGhee’s reign ended at Dens Park with a 2-1 defeat at Livingston.
How much longer before an appointment, we’ll just have to wait and see.
But if Bowyer is the man for the Dee, what can fans expect?
Bowyer’s playing days were short-lived.
In 1990, the young full-back was signed by Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. It was a club he knew well – his father Ian Bowyer had won two European Cups, a European Super Cup, a league title and a League Cup in his time at the city ground.
However, Bowyer Jr didn’t play a single game for Forest before signing at Rotherham United.
A back injury forced him into retirement at the age of just 25 and he moved into coaching.
After a spell at Derby County, Bowyer moved to Blackburn as U18 coach in 2004, then up to reserve coach in 2008.
Amid the chaos of the Venkys’ takeover at Ewood Park, Bowyer emerged as first-team manager in 2013 after two spells as caretaker boss.
His first opportunity as interim gaffer came with just 24 hours notice ahead of a game against Barnsley.
“We just went: ‘Wow! We’re playing Barnsley tomorrow’,” Bowyer told the Independent after Henning Berg’s dismissal in January 2013.
“It wasn’t a case of enjoyment or hating it. It was like – ‘God, it’s Friday, we have to get a team ready for Saturday’.”
They won 3-1 and Bowyer kept them up in his second spell as caretaker after next full-time boss Michael Appleton lasted just two months at Ewood Park.
After being handed the job on a permanent basis, Bowyer earned eighth and ninth-placed finishes in the Championship over the next two seasons.
The third season went sour, however, and he was sacked in November 2015.
After that, he took charge of a Blackpool side who had dropped from the Premier League to League Two in just four years. Bowyer arrested that slide by guiding them to seventh and winning the play-offs.
After promotion to League One, the Seasiders finished in the top half before Bowyer resigned after just one match of the 2018-19 campaign.
A year at Bradford City followed, with a 29% win ratio seeing his time with the Bantams end early.
After returning to Derby in a coaching role, an agreement was reached between Rams boss Wayne Rooney and Salford co-owner Gary Neville for Bowyer to take over as the Manchester club’s manager for the final 11 matches of the season.
It was effectively a loan deal and Bowyer grabbed his chance, winning the League Two manager of the month award as Salford finished the season well.
He was given a two-year deal at the club that summer but lasted just one season in charge.
Bowyer is described as a quiet man but quick with a joke and with strong man-management skills.
When he joined Salford, The Athletic wrote: “The jovial, good-humoured Bowyer has been well received at (Derby).
“Behind the scenes he is greatly appreciated for his work and a laugh is never far away with him around, though that light-hearted nature is never mistaken for a lack of discipline either.”