Holt hails McCann’s impact

Kevin Holt realised from Neil McCann’s first training session that his new manager was a rookie in name only, writes Eric Nicolson.

And the Dundee defender has been impressed with the speed at which the Sky Sports pundit got to the root of their problems.

McCann has made an instant impact on the players and played a crucial role in ending a seven-game losing run at Motherwell last weekend, according to Holt. The former Hearts and Rangers winger’s insight will be a key asset in Dundee’s attempt to keep their heads above water in the last few weeks of the Premiership season.

Holt said: “It was obvious from day one that he wasn’t just watching the games he was working on for Sky.”

“As a player you never really think about what these guys are doing in their spare time, but it’s clear the gaffer has been looking at footage of matches and he’s known exactly what he’s coming into.

“He has an obvious idea of what’s been going wrong and he’s worked to put things right, and it’s been a help.

“The boys have really taken to it.

“Going into Saturday at Motherwell we were drilled about everything.

“It was maybe good to have someone who has been watching the games on the telly and not from the dugout.

“He’s not just here to try out what management is like. He wants to do a good job for Dundee.”

Holt believes there is no overstating the significance of getting out of the play-off position after McCann’s first game in charge.

He said: “It was important we did it as soon as possible and Saturday was massive for us.

“When you are in a losing run like we were, it’s hard to get out of it.

“The break between the Hamilton and Motherwell games was good and bad. It was good because we had time to work with the new manager and he could get his ideas across in training.

“The bad side was the two-week wait for the game on Saturday because we just wanted it to come so we could end the bad run as soon as possible.

“We’ve done that but there is still a long way to go. There are four huge games and we need to win them.”

Kevin Holt has hailed the impact of new manager Neil McCann.