Mcpake nerves Dark Blues boss struggled to stay calm before first proper game in charge

James Mcpake now feels at home in the Dundee dugout, writes George Cran.

But the Dark Blues boss admits his first game in charge left him stricken with nerves.

The former Dee skipper took his first steps in management 11 months ago following the club’s relegation to the Championship.

His first competitive clash came at Stark’s Park in the Betfred Cup, a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Andrew Nelson (2) and Craig Curran.

But the Dens gaffer admits he struggled to stay calm.

“I was very nervous,” revealed Mcpake.

“It was my first real taste of (it being) my team – the St Mirren game (at the end of the previous season) wasn’t my team.

“This was my first game, our new team’s first game, and a lot of new ideas went into that pre-season.

“I was very nervous and probably only settled when the third goal went in.”

The Dens boss would go on to miss a home stalemate with Peterhead a week later due to the birth of his daughter.

Although it was tough to have to watch from afar, Mcpake knew he’d left the team in good hands with assistant Jimmy Nicholl and firstteam coach Dave Mackay.

“I watched the full game from the labour suite,” said Mcpake.

“It wasn’t too difficult in the sense that I wasn’t there because, I’ll be honest, family is everything – whether it was a Dundee United game or anything, I was going to be at the birth of my child.

“My worry was the baby would arrive when we were up at Cove (in midweek) and I would struggle to be there.

“I watched the Peterhead game and I did try to get messages across to the staff, without being too intrusive.

“We had picked the team before and for me to be texting from a labour ward when they are seeing the game in real time would’ve been wrong.

“The messages I sent were very simple and we had Jimmy Nicholl – he’s played in two World Cups, managed a team that’s won our league and managed a team to a major trophy – and Dave Mackay, who had managed against teams in that league, so we were in capable hands.

“We just weren’t good enough on the day, simple as that, and were very flat.

“That gave us an early indication of what was to come – teams just came, let us have the ball and sat in.”

James Mcpake: Opened with a 3-0 win at Raith.