Former Celtic and Scotland boss Gordon Strachan has been confirmed as the new Dundee Technical Director.
Strachan has returned to the club he started his professional football career with in 1974. One of his main priorities at Dens Park will be to help the club develop its young players.
It’s a big appointment by the Tayside club.
Strachan will have a big influence at Dundee
His work in the youth academy will be vital for the club. His experience at the top level of management will be of great use to the young Dee players and the coaches, who will be able to learn from his ways of management.
If Strachan can become successful in this role, it could become a money spinner for the club. Developing young talent from the club’s academy and selling them on for a fee is something that has been, and still is, successful for clubs like Motherwell, Hamilton and St Mirren.
The Dark Blues will want to follow in their footsteps. Another area of the club you’d like to think he’d have influence is the first-team. His role will likely be to help the development of James McPake as a manager.
This is the former Dee centre-back’s first senior management job. Having a well-established boss in the Scottish game to go to for guidance on how to deal with a certain situation or to ask for tips to success will be a brilliant tool for McPake.
Strachan’s presence around the place will be massive and it gives Dundee a lift off the park ahead of the Championship season.
Now the club’s full attention must turn to strengthening the playing squad. A couple more attacking options are needed if they want to push for the second tier crown, proven by their woeful performance in front of goal against Cove Rangers in the League Cup. They drew 0-0, before winning the bonus point via spot kicks.
Filling some attacking voids, in addition to the appointment of Strachan, will put Dundee in position to launch a title charge this season.