Coaching stint fuelled McCann’s desire to be boss

Neil McCann admits his first taste of coaching whetted his appetite to play a bigger role as the boss of a side.

The 42-year-old was unveiled as interim manager of Dundee last week following Paul Hartley’s sacking.

His appointment came as a big surprise as the former Dundee, Hearts, Rangers and Scotland winger had no previous managerial experience and has spent the last few years as a pundit giving his opinions on Sky Sports.

However, McCann has worked on the training field before in a coaching role with Dunfermline under veteran boss Jim Jefferies.

He said: “Although I wasn’t manager at Dunfermline, I had a wee taste of it with Jim Jefferies. He was so good in terms of my introduction into a coaching capacity.

“It shows you the trust he had in me but Jim would come in in the morning and I would have the session written out. “To be honest, he never interfered with it. “It was as if he allowed me that freedom to have a real input. If he needed to oversee things, then he was the gaffer but essentially it gave me a bit of experience.”