NEIL McCANN
I don’t want to be another Neville or Shearer
THE path from TV studio to dugout is littered with big-name failures.
Neil McCann has no intention of becoming the latest.
Dundee’s new gaffer has swapped a cushy studio job with Sky for a relegation scrap with his old club.
Like Alan Shearer and Gary Neville before him, McCann has taken on a high-risk appointment.
Shearer failed to save Newcastle United from relegation, while Neville was sacked by Valencia after less than four months.
But Dundee’s first-time gaffer expects to make the grade – unlike his fellow pundits – by leading the Dark Blues to Premiership safety.
“Alan and Gary are always going to be dragged up,” said McCann.
“There are always going to be comparisons made, but I’m coming to Dundee fully expecting to be successful, otherwise I wouldn’t have disrespected the club by taking the position.
“I absolutely believe that the players don’t want to be in the position they are in.
“Nobody wants to be in this position because it’s absolutely horrible. You take it home with you.
“But it’s important that when the players come into this environment, they forget about the home stuff and they get back to playing football again.
“I don’t really care about setting a precedent for pundits.
“I won’t be jumping about saying I’m a success if we get ourselves out of trouble.
“I don’t think about Gary and Alan – I really don’t.”
McCann’s Dark Blues currently occupy the play-off spot, five points clear of basement boys Inverness Caley Thistle.
But they are two behind Motherwell and Hamilton Accies, three behind Ross County and five points shy of Kilmarnock.
Seven defeats on the spin stretching back to March 1 cost ex-gaffer Paul Hartley his job.
But his replacement has all the credentials to turn things around, even if he lacks experience.
McCann finished top of his UEFA A Licence course three years ago, then went on to secure UEFA’s top qualification – the Pro Licence.
Now he is anxious to put all of that theory, which has so far informed his TV analysis, to practical use.
“What I always wanted to do was arm myself,” he said.
“I did it first of all to be credible, otherwise people can say, ‘What does he know? What coaching badges has he got?’ “Well, I’ve got them all. “And I don’t go into anything half-cocked. If I go into a coaching course, I want to be the best.
“If you go in not giving 100%, sometimes you can get a slap in the face.
“So I did my B Licence, my A Licence, then I went over to Belfast and did my Pro Licence too.
“I wouldn’t say I came top of the Pro Licence. I was in with Eddie Howe. We came down to the last two – but we weren’t told who got it!
“I wanted the knowledge, I got the knowledge. Now it’s about the practice.”
Despite his confidence, McCann cannot turn Dundee’s season around on his own.
Having played a vital cameo during the Dark Blues’ “Deefiant” administration season of 2010/11, he knows how vital the club’s supporters can be.
Six years ago, they roared their club to First Division safety, despite a 25-point deduction.
Now McCann wants them to get behind the current crop with the same fervour between now campaign’s end.
“They need to dig deep because I know how frustrating it is,” he said.
“Looking back to the Deefiant season, there was a siege mentality. It was backs-to-the wall stuff.
“They need to get back to that now because we are in trouble. There’s no other way of putting it.
“We need the supporters’ backing because I’ve seen it, firsthand, right through my career.
“When fans get on players backs, you can see them physically shrinking.
“I don’t want the players to shrink. I want them to get the shoulders back, and the fans have to be part of that.
“I’m sure if you went and pulled a Dundee fan off the street and asked if they felt proud of the team staying up in the Deefiant season – and if they had felt part of it – they would say yes.
“They need to be part of it again.”
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