Dens Park cult hero hangs up boots after 19-year career

Manager says things will pick up quickly at Dens after start date is given

James Mcpake doesn’t know when he’ll be able to sign players – or how much money he’ll have to spend on them.

But the Dundee boss revealed his phone is still ringing off the hook with agents touting their clients for next season.

Clubs in the Championship are desperate for clarity on when they will be allowed to return to action following the coronavirus shutdown.

The nearest current estimate appears, according to a reported “provisional agreement” between club chiefs, to be October 17.

If that date turns out to be accurate, it means second-tier clubs face up to another three months of inactivity before training resumes.

However, that hasn’t stopped agents from sounding out potential opportunities for their jobless clients.

“The phone’s still non-stop with agents regarding possible players that are on the move,” revealed Mcpake.

“But I’ve only got the standard answer that every manager is giving them – we won’t know until we have our budget and our start date.

“It’s a tough time, particularly for the players. I feel sorry for them because there are a lot coming out of contract.

“I get there are a lot of worse things going on outside of football, but it’s a tough time for players who are coming out of contract. There’ll be real worry there.

“But that echoes every industry.” Transfer plans would ordinarily be in full swing at this stage of the summer, demanding huge amounts of time and attention from head coaches and sporting directors.

This year, with little to no movement anywhere, gaffers have been freed up to put the hours in on different fronts.

Mcpake has spent his lockdown painstakingly analysing individual and collective performances from last season, in an effort to better understand how his side can hit the ground running in the coming campaign.

As a result, he feels he has a strong grasp of why things went the way they did last time out.

Now he is desperate for a firm start date to work towards, which, he believes, will be the catalyst for an explosion of activity on every front at Dens Park.

“We’ve managed to get loads (of work) done, but it has been more from an analysis point of view on last season – what worked well, what didn’t work, what we need going forward,” Mcpake said.

“There has been a lot of work done, but in terms of ingoing and outgoings, not so much of that at the minute until we get a date. “Everything’s up in the air. “We’ve had enough time now to go over last season and we’ve done that.

“Now we’re ready for next season. We feel we’re in a better shape than last summer.

“But, again, everything is dictated by the date.

“I can’t stress enough – that’s what we do need.

“It’s not a get out. We need a date so

“We’re in a better shape than last summer.

JAMES MCPAKE

we can plan. Once we do get that date we’ll see things picking up quickly on every front.”

Meanwhile, the Dark Blues have revealed their plan to refund season ticket holders for cancelled games at the end of last season has been delayed by legal red tape.

After the suspension of the 2019-20 season, the Dee said their intention was to reimburse pre-paying fans who missed out on five scheduled home matches.

However, with insurance companies around the world stalling on business interruption policy pay-outs, Dundee, who believe they should be a beneficiary of just such a policy, have urged continued patience from supporters.

In a statement, the club said: “We have previously stated our intention to, where practical, reimburse those season ticket holders for the remainder of the 2019-20 season that was not played.

“That has not changed. However, there are protracted discussions and court proceedings surrounding insurance claims ongoing throughout the country.

“When proceedings are complete we will be able to seek clarity regarding our own claim and will be in the position to appraise the situation regarding refunds.

“We would like to thank supporters for their patience surrounding this ongoing process and we will further update as soon as we possibly can,” they said.

On sales for next season, the club added: “Season ticket sales have been steady throughout this difficult period, which is a credit to our support.

“We have taken the decision to extend sales, current pricing and reserve seats indefinitely.

“Further information will be released on the website once we have confirmation of dates for the new season.”

Picture: SNS. James Mcpake revealed his phone is still ringing off the hook with agents putting forward their players for next season despite the current lockdown uncertainty.