The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
McCann the boss after shock U-turn
Sky Sports pundit returns to Dens as permanent manager
Neil McCann last night performed a hugely-dramatic U-turn and agreed to become the new permanent manager of Dundee.
On Monday, the Dark Blues announced that the 42-year-old had left the club after a successful spell as interim boss and he was expected to return to his full-time role as a Sky Sports pundit.
That was a big blow to Dundee who had hoped he would stay on after guiding the club to Premiership safety during his five games in charge following the sacking of Paul Hartley.
However, those hopes looked to be dashed at the start of this week with the Dark Blues issuing a statement saying: “Dundee Football Club can today confirm that Neil McCann has left the club after fulfilling his role as interim manager.”
Now though, the former Dundee, Rangers and Scotland winger – who came out of retirement to play in the Dee-Fiant season – has had a massive change of heart and will begin work preparing the team for the forthcoming season.
In a statement, McCann said: “After completing my spell as interim manager, I returned to Sky Sports fully committed to fulfilling my duties and continuing my career in broadcasting.
“In the past few days however I have had time to think about the opportunity of being manager of Dundee FC full-time and decided it was too good for me to turn down.
“I’m looking forward to being in charge for the new season and work has already begun on a number of fronts. I’m excited about the future and can’t wait to get started.”
Nelms said the club had received a large number of applicants for the manager’s job and had even held talks with some of them but throughout the entire process, McCann was always the man they wanted.
The length of his new deal at Dens was not revealed, although Nelms hinted it is longer than just one season.
The managing director added: “We’ve had discussions with a number of candidates but Neil has been our No 1 choice since taking over as interim manager at the split.
“We were inundated with applications for the position over the past few weeks. However, the attributes Neil demonstrated are consistent with the qualities required to lead Dundee Football Club.
“We are looking forward to success in the upcoming seasons with Neil at the helm.”
Dark Blues skipper Darren O’Dea also expressed his delight at McCann’s appointment.
The Irishman said: “I’m delighted. We thought he hadn’t taken the job and it’s a bit of a surprise that now he has.
“We had a good end to the season and he had a real impact. Hopefully we can take that into the new season. He has a bit of everything. He had a lot of ideas and enthusiasm. I’m just delighted it’s all done.
“It’s a good piece of news for the club. It was important the right appointment was made and the gaffer was the one we all wanted.”
Earlier yesterday, Dundee’s reported No 1 target after McCann originally turned down the job, St Mirren boss Jack Ross, had reiterated his commitment to the Paisley side saying: “Following speculation regarding my position as the manager of the club, I can confirm that I remain focused on continuing to build on the momentum we created in the second half of last season.
“James (assistant manager, Fowler) and I have put in a lot of hard work already and will continue to do so as we strive to prepare a squad capable of challenging in what will be a hugely competitive and demanding Championship.”