Dundee is a city on a wave of positivity but its football teams are drowning in a sea of mediocrity
THE eyes of the world have been on Dundee this past week with the stunning new V&A design museum opening its doors to the public.
Like Bilbao’s Guggenheim, it is hoped the £80million project will regenerate the local area, ensuring a bright future to accompany its rich past of jute, jam and journalism.
Yet while the V&A is causing waves of positivity to wash over Tayside, the City of Discovery’s two senior teams, by contrast, are drowning in mediocrity. Both former European Cup semi finalists — Dundee succumbing to AC Milan in 1963, and Dundee United controversially ousted by Roma in 1984 — the rich footballing histories of the clubs seem more distant than ever. With six consecutive Premiership defeats, Neil McCann’s Dundee are pointless at the foot of the table.
Ahead of hosting Hibs tomorrow, the former Rangers and Scotland winger is just one more loss away from the imperfect seven that cost Paul Hartley his Dens Park post in April 2017.
Over at Tannadice, meanwhile, United continue to make heavy weather of it in their third season in the Championship.
It’s believed only a stoppagetime equaliser by Fraser Fyvie at home to Morton last weekend kept Csaba Laszlo in his job.
Defeat at rock-bottom Falkirk tomorrow would surely spell the end of the former Hearts coach’s reign after just ten months.
Yet Laszlo, ever the optimist, instead has designs on ensuring the City of Discovery’s football teams unite to shake off their City of Despondency tag and join in with the V&A feelgood factor sweeping Dundee.
‘This is a football town,’ said Laszlo. ‘With not just Dundee United but Dundee, you have two teams with very passionate fans.
‘But over the last few seasons, we must be honest and say that both teams have been struggling. One team wants to go back up and one wants to stay in the Premiership.
‘What I wish from the bottom of my heart is that Dundee United will be promoted back up to the Premiership at the end of this season and that Dundee keep their position in the top league.
‘Maybe after that we can all be happy and the two teams can go together to see the new museum.
‘The fans will also be happy that we will have derbies in the Scottish Premiership next season and not the Championship.’
The fall of United is a tale well told but it remains a dizzying descent. As recently as January 2015, Jackie McNamara’s side sat top of the Premiership and claims were emanating from the dressing room that they could sweep the board.
‘I believe we can win all three trophies,’ beamed keeper Rado Cierzniak. ‘People might laugh at me but maybe in May I will be the one who is laughing.’
He wasn’t. United reached backto-back cup finals that May for the first time since Jim McLean had achieved the feat 29 years earlier, but lost both and the club then entered an inexorable tailspin.
United had already controversially sold Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven to Celtic and the fallout turned acrid when it emerged McNamara was entitled to a cut of player sales.
The team’s form plummeted, McNamara was sacked and his successor Mixu Paatelainen was unable to stop the death spiral towards the Championship.
United’s relegation in May 2016 was confirmed after a derby defeat at city foes Dundee; the venue where, under McLean, the club had enjoyed arguably its finest hour, winning the 1983 Scottish title at Dens Park.
With Paatelainen sacked, Ray McKinnon took United to the Premiership Play-off finals, losing narrowly to Hamilton in the final. He was hastily sacked last November with his side five points off the top of the Championship.
The sense of a club that has lost its way continued this week with a scathing attack by former boss Craig Levein.
Famous only three years ago for helping blood young talent like Armstrong, Mackay-Steven and future Liverpool Champions League finalist Andy Robertson, Hearts boss Levein accused United of almost ruining new Scotland defender John Souttar’s career by mismanaging his emergence at Tannadice.
The new season under Laszlo has begun poorly with a Betfred Cup exit at the group stage preceding a start that sees United fifth in the Championship.
They may be just three points behind leaders Inverness but performances have been worrying. New chairman Mike Martin has, so far, stuck by his manager despite some fans calling for his head. But there is a fateful feel about tomorrow’s match at Falkirk, now managed by McKinnon, who will no doubt have a point to prove to his former employers.
Laszlo somehow survived United losing 6-1 at Westfield back in January but anything less than three points tomorrow will see him under immense strain.
Asked about facing his predecessor McKinnon, Laszlo said: ‘I don’t care about that. It will be an important game, both clubs will be looking to fight for the three points — that’s all.
‘We don’t look at Falkirk being bottom of the table and think it will be easy for us. I’ve watched them and they have a new manager so we need to be prepared.
‘As for the fans, I don’t have any problem if people criticise our performances because they have paid money and they want to see their team win. But last week I was really, really happy that my team did not give up in the last few minutes against Morton. We showed we really wanted it.
‘Now we want to win at Falkirk. We are four games unbeaten now, but we have drawn our last two matches and we don’t want to see maybe one or two teams getting away and opening up a big gap.
‘Am I under pressure if we don’t win at Falkirk? Look, the league finishes next year.
‘But from the first moment that I came to Dundee United it was always clear to me that every game would be a pressure match because the target for this club is to be back in the Premiership.
‘We all want that to happen this season, so we have to be at the top of the table. To achieve that we have to win our games. For me, that is pressure.’