I’ve been in five finals, lost four and lost my job the week before the fifth... I want to keep getting to finals but I need to WIN one
NEW TANNADICE BOSS ROSS EAGER TO END CUP HEARTACHE
IT’S the day after the summer solstice in St Andrews and Jack Ross is dressed for the occasion. Donning a light-blue linen blazer, white shirt and dress shorts, Dundee United’s new manager is perfectly attired for the golf season, now in full flow around the site of his new club’s training base.
United will escape the imminent influx for the 150th Open Championship by flying to a pre-season camp in Spain. Appointed on a two-year deal, Ross emits a steely determination alongside the sunshine vibes.
Pointedly, he expresses his determination to land a trophy with United, a tangible reward for his new employers and the kind of personal validation that might offset probably his worst experience in football.
Measured in daylight hours, Sunday, December 19 was close to the shortest day of 2021 but for Ross it took an eternity to pass.
Sacked just 10 days previously by Hibs owner Ron Gordon, Ross was denied the chance to lead his Hibs players out at Hampden for the Premier Sports Cup final.
‘Irrespective of the result, I just wanted the day done,’ he admits. ‘My eldest daughter and wife were away, so I just mucked about with my youngest. I never thought it would be as bad as that but it was a tough day. I was really close to my players and staff, so how could I not want them to be successful?
‘How could I not want that for Martin Boyle, Ryan Porteous, Paul McGinn, Joe Newell — guys that I formed really good working and personal relationships with.
‘But obviously I wasn’t in the best place with some other people at the club at that point.
‘I listened to a podcast with Frank Lampard. Chelsea got to the Champions League final after he was dismissed and he spoke about Mason Mount and other young players he had introduced. He was also a Chelsea fan, which made it even worse.’
Where Ross found himself at the hands of an overbearing chairman in Gordon, he is likely to find far less interference from United’s America-based owner Mark Ogren.
United’s structure heavily involves sporting director Tony Asghar, but he too is understood to crave a more hands-off role going forward, giving Ross scope to shape the club from within his role as head coach.
Trophies will only form part of the remit. As Tam Courts’ replacement, he will be trusted to build on the good work of his predecessor in securing a fourth-placed Premiership finish and European football.
Personally, he would also like to prove he has the minerals to be a winning manager. Although his cup record at Hibs was pretty good, his success in reaching Hampden only cast a brighter light on his failure to take the final step.
He continues: ‘You always want to give relative success to clubs. That’s judged in different ways but the tangible things are trophies and I’ve only got one, the Championship with St Mirren.
‘I’ve been in seven semis and won five but I have been in five finals, lost four and lost my job the week before the fifth one. I get asked about losing big games but semis are big games, too!
‘I’ve got a really good record in semis and a c**p record in finals. I want to keep getting to finals but I want to win one of them. Not for self-gratification but because when you are in them, it’s so damn sore when you lose.’
At Hibs, Ross’s team lost to St Johnstone in the 2021 Scottish Cup final and a clutch of semis, most painfully to Hearts in the held-over Scottish Cup from the season cut short by Covid.
Before that, Ross twice guided Sunderland to Wembley in season 2018-19, losing the EFL Trophy final to Portsmouth and a play-off final against Charlton.
‘The finals with Sunderland at Wembley were great occasions but they hurt,’ he says. ‘The Scottish Cup final hurt. I want to get to that stage but win it and I am now at a club where it’s realistic to do that.’
Ross’s family moved to the north east of England during his time at Sunderland and have remained resident in Northumberland.
That won’t change as he embarks on his new role but while he will split his time between St Andrews and the family home, he’ll take on anyone who questions his devotion to the job.
‘In this industry, people forget we are human beings with families and kids in education, etc. Where I live, there’s a lot of people who work in London, yet it’s not an issue,’ adds Ross. ‘One of the frustrating things is people think that’s a lack of commitment. If anything, I am too intense about what I do, so it’s never been an issue.’