Jekyll and Hyde Dee big help for McCann

DUNDEE boss Neil McCann knows exactly what’s required at Dens Park after seeing Jekyll and Hyde displays from the team under his interim charge.

The Dark Blues boss is already working away on getting his squad ready for the new season after being announced as full-time manager last week.

During the five matches in charge at t he end of t he season t he 42-year-old oversaw three good performances that kept the side in the Premiership but then came two “embarrassing” defeats to Inverness and then Hamilton.

Despite not enjoying that final game at the time — and for many the manner of that defeat led to him turning down the full-time role initially — he says he learned so much more than if he’d finished off the season with victory.

He said: “A lot of people will have said the Hamilton defeat might have influenced my decision not to take the job.

“What it did was actually help me massively because the job started so well but then embarrassingly.

“I say that because I don’t do defeat, anybody knows me whether its golf or anything, I hate losing.

“However, that defeat gave me something to think about and it wasn’t like ‘these boys aren’t good enough’ it was getting an insight into different mentalities and how things can work against you.

“Going into the Hamilton game you’re thinking the job’s done and we lost a couple of goals — you see guys thinking is it the same requirement? “Well, it is. “We all had a discussion after that game as a group.

“The good thing is, for me, there finished was nobody running about i n sombreros and kicking beach balls in the changing-room.

“They were flat because there’s a lot of those boys under contract next season, there are a couple who are out of contract and might come back, but they were under no illusion that would not be accepted this season.”

Tonight, Dundee youngster Craig Wighton will look to help Scotland U/20s through to the semi-finals of the Toulon Tournament — and in the process knock Brazil out.

Scot Gemmill’s side take on Indonesia needing victory to give them the chance of being the best runner-up.

The semi-finals take place on Thursday evening.

Neil McCann labelled the 4-0 defeat to Hamilton on the last day of the season ‘embarrassing’ but says it told him a lot about his players.