Text messages about jobs are thing of the past as patience pays off

Jim McIntyre has been linked with more managerial vacancies over the last 12 months than Dundee have got points in the Premiership.

But the former Dunfermline and Ross County boss’s patience has paid off with his appointment as Neil McCann’s successor at Dens Park – a big job he feels has been worth the wait.

McIntyre can now stop fielding text messages telling him he’s the bookmakers’ favourite here, there and everywhere.

He said: “Every time I saw myself as favourite I thought I’d no chance. My mate would text me ‘you’re favourite’ and I’d reply ‘don’t put any money on me then’.”

McIntyre was happy to bide his time for the right opportunity after being sacked in Dingwall just over a year ago. And he believes Dundee’s is it.

“It’s very important that you trust your CV and what you think is right in terms of the right job,” he said.

“There were a couple of opportunities that just didn’t feel right.

“One was just timing and the other I wasn’t liking what I was hearing.

“I took a break. I could have gone straight back in the following week but I decided not to.

“I spoke with a number of people within the game whose opinion I value.

“I don’t regret it. I went away on a couple of nice breaks and relaxed. Then, when I came back, I was just going to games, keeping my eye in, a bit of training, just making sure I was doing what any out-of-work manager does. I remained patient.”

Even in the brutal world of football, McIntyre’s dismissal at County, where he won a League Cup, was one that came as a shock, not just to the man himself.

“We’re all big boys in the management game,” he said. “We understand how it works. Sometimes you are dealt a sore one. I certainly was.

“Roy (MacGregor, Ross County chairman) has since said what he’s had to say on it and privately I’ve had some great conversations with him. It’s not about poor me at Ross County. But it’s easier to accept when it’s widely recognised that it’s a mistake.

“It’s not often when you get the sack that you have managers of a certain ilk who are on the phone right away saying it should never have happened.”