Dee will bounce back, as will Mcghee when he gets his ankle fixed
Mark Mcghee is tipping his successor at Dens Park, Gary Bowyer, to lead Dundee straight back up to the top flight.
Appointed as manager in February, the former Motherwell and Aberdeen boss departed in May, following the club’s relegation to the Championship.
Having now had a few weeks to reflect on his short time in charge, Mcghee has no complaints with the way events played out and, indeed, is bullish about the club’s prospects of making an instant return to the Premiership.
“I have no issues with what happened at Dundee. I am absolutely clear from both sides of it,” he said.
“That’s from both the club’s side, in terms of the team, and my side, in terms of what I was able to do or not able to do.
“The main thing I would really reflect on would be the effect of the time away from the job – the six-match ban and then the two I missed with Covid.
“Unfortunately, we totally underestimated the effect the SFA ban would have on the impact I was able to make at Dens.
“As much as my assistant, Simon Rusk, was able to help out in the dugout and dressing room, I needed to be really in among it to influence the players. I just was not able to do that.
“Now I am looking on from the outside, and I can’t see past them for promotion, I really can’t.
“I would challenge them to go and lead from the front, and to be the dominant force in the division.
“With the squad they have, and the new energy they will get from the manager and the couple of additions I believe he will bring in, they can follow Kilmarnock and Hearts in going straight back up.
“Put it this way. Anyone that finishes above them will win the league – but I don’t believe anyone will.”
Arbroath’s bold run to lead the Championship for much of last season brought unprecedented attention to Scotland’s second tier, from outside, as well as inside, the game.
And having taken the chance to study Dick Campbell’s part-timers up close, Mcghee sees no reason to underestimate their chances for the 2022-23 campaign.
“Staying just down the road at Broughty Ferry, I managed to get along to see Arbroath a couple of times, and they were an interesting watch,” he said.
“They have a basic way of playing, but all the players are good at doing it. They are committed and aggressive, and they make it really hard for opposition teams.
“I felt sorry for them, the way it finished last year.
But I can’t see why they can’t have a good run again.
“In fact, you would imagine the ones who made it through to the play-offs – the two Thistles, Inverness and Partick, and Arbroath – would be the ones to give Dundee a run for their money.” The 65-yearold’s immediate priorities, meanwhile, are personal rather than professional. “I am not looking to jump back into a manager’s job just now, and I couldn’t really even if I wanted to,” he said.
“For 18 months, I have had a problem with my left ankle. I have been really struggling with it, hobbling around, and I need to get it fixed before I can do anything.
“It is an issue that goes all the way back to my playing days when I was at Hamburg.
“We sorted it out for a while, but it has kept coming back from time to time over the years. At the moment, it is really affecting my quality of life, as I can’t even walk very easily from here to there.
“I have an appointment with a specialist at the end of the month. If I get that sorted out and clear my head a little, then we will see what I am going to do from there.”