The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pars waste no time on cashing in Nisbet deal to gain three recruits
Dunfermline secured the Kevin Nisbet deal they had been holding out for – and wasted no time in embarking on a signing spree with the banked cash.
ThePars,whowillbringinaround £250,000 for the sale of their star striker to Hibs as revealed yesterday by Courier Sport, completed a hat-trick of Friday recruits.
Wide midfielder Dom Thomas has been snapped up from Kilmarnock on a two-year contract, with another player who is wellknown at East End Park, Declan McManus, also signing until 2022.
Fellow striker Kevin O’Hara, meanwhile, agreed a three-year deal after leaving Alloa.
Thomas arrived in Fife on loan from Killie in January and was a short-term success story for manager Stevie Crawford.
“It’s great to be back,” said the former Motherwell man.
“I really enjoyed my time here and I’m just glad that it’s now on a permanent basis. I’ve got great memories and I’m looking forward to making some new ones.”
Ex-Par McManus, who was released by Ross County and scored 24 goals on loan at Falkirk last season, said: “I feel there is unfinished business for me here.
“I really, really enjoyed my time at the club and leaving wasn’t an option easily taken.“
O’Hara is the only one of the three who hasn’t played for the club before but Dunfermline fans will recall his performances against them in the Championship.
The 21-year-old scored 14 goals in 35 appearances for the part-time side.
“I am absolutely delighted to come to Dunfermline,” said the former Scotland youth international.
“It is a massive club and I’ve enjoyed playing here over the years.
“My aim is to score goals and make Dunfermline as good as they can be.”
Pars boss Crawford was a happy man with all the business that has been done so far, having previously brought in defenders Paul Watson and Steven Whittaker. The Courier understands that ex-Falkirk, St Johnstone and Hamilton midfielder Blair Alston is also on his radar.
He said: “Last year Kevin was given a platform by Peter Grant at Alloa and he did fantastically well for them. He probably got a bit of belief in himself that he could score goals at this level.
“We are very fortunate that we have someone coming in at 21 who has a good part of his career ahead of him.
“Declan had a spell at the club a few years ago. He’s very popular with the supporters and wears his heart on his sleeve.”
Persuading Kilmarnock to part with Thomas and persuading the player himself to drop down to the Championship was a feather in Crawford’s cap.
He said: “I was aiming to get a wide attacking player and Dom was my number one target.
“I think it shows the ambition we have to get him from a Premiership club like Kilmarnock.
“Dom also sees Dunfermline as a very good fit for him at this stage of his career.”
Dunfermline are extremely satisfied with the terms they negotiated with Hibs for Nisbet.
As well as the six-figure fee up front, there is a substantial sell-on clause which could prove to be lucrative if the former Raith Rovers forward’s career rise continues at Easter Road.
How would you deal with players who need motivation?” a famous English manager was once asked. “I look around the dressing room and if there are any like that, I sack them,” was his reply.
It’s been suggested that new Dundee United boss Micky Mellon is old school, but from what we’re told, he’s a different kind of old school from that antediluvian mind set.
There’s a fine line between agreeing that professional athletes should be self starters and finding methods of management to lift them beyond what they might themselves feel capable of.
The great man-managers possess that gift. The ability to cajole, communicate, inspire and elevate often ordinary players to heights undreamt of.
It’s a rare talent to be able to eke the crucial extra ounce of effort or sweat from tired bodies and limbs and, in football, where often the skills gap between two teams is marginal, it can be the difference between success and failure.
Mellon hasn’t worked in the Scottish game and some will tell you that’s a disadvantage.
I’m not certain how though, in a game which, wherever you go, is still primarily about the ability to control and pass a ball, beat a man, shoot and tackle. Either a man can manage or he can’t.
Is there a difference in the Scottish player’s mentality from that which Mellon will be used to?
I don’t see why there should be. Professional footballers speak the same language on the pitch whether it’s England, Scotland or any other part of the globe.
The new United manager has inherited a decent squad at the sixth biggest club in the country.
He arrives with a reputation of being able to get the best from players. All players or managers can offer is their best. If Mellon can squeeze that from all at Tannadice his appointment will prove to be a sound one.
Contract talks
Dundee FC’s threat to suspend the contracts of their players and thus stop their wages indicates clearly how desperate finances are at Dens Park.
The club has, until now, been paying the players despite no football being played, but it gave them until midnight last night to accept wage reductions after concluding they couldn’t continue to pay at current levels. Coming alongside the threat of cuts to the youth academy, the move signals that a serious cash crisis is unfolding at the Dark Blues. If the players are expected to take cuts, many fans will be asking if everyone at the club is in it together. Are wage cuts to be felt across the board, with managing director John Nelms leading by example?
Even if players accept wages being reduced in these dire circumstances, the effect of only the playing staff taking a hit would be a bitter morale blow. These are unprecedented times and tough decisions are being made which have serious ramifications in both the short and long-term. However, if there’s a sense that everyone at Dens is prepared to share the pain, then the damage in this grim tale may be lessened.