Jim Spence on Saturday

Dundee board must hold nerve

Dundee boss Neil McCann needs his men to start converting good play into wins, or they face a relegation scrap.

With plans for moving to a new stadium, Championship football can’t be countenanced.

The team is playing well, but results are grim. The table doesn’t lie. A five-game losing run, two wins from 13 league outings, and being bottom club in the pile can rattle the confidence of players and fans.

The board were convinced their former player and Sky Sports pundit was the man for the job, so it’s imperative they hold their nerve, despite some supporter rumblings.

Any new manager takes time to find his feet; that goes with the territory.

It’s also where directors show their mettle. Support and assistance and a clear message that his philosophy and ideas are being backed to the hilt are crucial.

McCann exudes confidence, insisting his players are free to express themselves.

All managers lead from the front and set an example to the players. If he is unwavering in his belief in them, that should eventually become infectious.

Dundee as a club has long been bedevilled by change and turmoil. What’s needed now is a solid sense of stability. Wright moment

Tommy Wright was the man Dundee United wanted to replace Ray McKinnon, but too many obstacles – including the possibility and timing of the Northern Ireland job becoming available – got in the way.

Wright has admitted managing his country is his dream job, and when Michael O’Neill vacates the post shortly, as he will, Wright is the ideal man and front runner to fill his shoes.

There’s a time for everyone to move to pastures new, and this could be it for the Saints boss to accept his biggest football challenge.

If he does leave, Saints fans will reflect on the most successful period in the club’s history.

If he doesn’t, chairman Steve Brown may have to set aside some financial caution to strengthen the squad in January, to ensure top-six status. Laszlo means business

Csaba Laszlo has wasted no time showing he means business at Tannadice. Cancelling the rest day of the players on Wednesdays indicates he is in determined mood, and that might mean anyone who doesn’t like it can shape up or ship out.

I’m told he turned down another job to take on the Tannadice challenge.

He has inherited by far the best squad in the league, but football seldom rewards those who don’t put the required graft in.

Laszlo knows how to make a team work in challenging circumstances. Under the zany ownership of Vladimir Romanov, he took Hearts to a third-placed league finish and into Europe.

By now the United players will know his apparently easy-going charm and bonhomie hides an iron fist in a velvet glove.

United have a squad capable of winning the Championship. They need to do that this season at the second time of asking.

Csaba Laszlo knows it must be achieved to satisfy the ambitions of the fans, the directors, and himself.

Picture: SNS. Neil McCann needs results – and the Dundee directors must show their mettle.

Picture: Getty. Tommy Wright: the ideal man to manage his country.