Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McGhee hopes to stay at club despite string of defeats while in charge
MARK McGhee says he’d “like to stay” on as Dundee manager, despite the club’s relegation to the Championship being all but confirmed.
The Dark Blues fell to a 2-0 defeat at St Mirren to drop six points behind St Johnstone with only six left to play for.
It was McGhee’s 12th match in charge since taking over from James McPake in February with the experienced manager yet to lead his side to victory.
Despite that, he’d like to remain in charge beyond the end of his short-term contract, which ends this summer.
“I came here hoping to stay,” he said after the Paisley defeat.
“I’ve no idea, really. We’ve not discussed it.
“I’d like to stay but we’ll see.”
The 2-0 reverse at St Mirren was his seventh loss in those 12 games.
It kicked off with an incredible blunder from captain Charlie Adam as he passed across his own box, gifting the opening goal to Alex Greive after just four minutes.
McGhee, though, was more concerned with the lack of reaction from his side in the subsequent 86 minutes.
“Charlie held his hand up at the time and again when he came off,” McGhee said.
“It was an aberration, I don’t know what he was thinking. I thought he was just going to play it out to the far side.
“He said he tried to play it to the keeper.
“He has just got it wrong. “But we had a lot of time to recover from it and I think that’s more significant than the loss of one goal that could have come in any shape or form.”
Dundee now need six points from six coupled with two defeats for St Johnstone to stay up.
And McGhee admits that’s an unlikely prospect.
“I think we have to think St Johnstone will take at least a point from the two games,” he said.
“We’re at home (on Tuesday against Hibs), we have to play for pride and turn up properly.
“Show the supporters who come on Tuesday they care. I believe they do care regardless of how the performance was.
“The boys have shown that in recent weeks and we have to show that again.”