Gary Bowyer’s Dundee story is, on the face of it, a peculiar one.
At Dens Park for a year, the experienced English boss led the Dee to the Championship title and won the manager of the year award.
In an unexpected turn of events, he was dismissed from his position the same day as picking up his gong.
Now, it can’t really be argued that getting Tony Docherty in as manager was a bad move after a top six finish in their first season back up in the Premiership.
But any manager who has just won a league and been crowned manager of the year can rightly feel aggrieved.
Niall McGinn details Gary Bowyer Dundee bust-up
But one man who doesn’t feel any semblance of sympathy for Bowyer is Niall McGinn.
The experienced Northern Ireland international was one of players inherited by the former Salford boss when he took over at Dens.
The pair had positive early discussions as it looked like their relationship was going to be a strong one as they tried to get back to the top flight.
But after starring in pre-season, McGinn was hooked at half-time in the first game of the season while the team trailed Partick Thistle. And he says he was treated unfairly from that moment on, insisting there was no reason for it either.
Speaking on Open Goal, the former Aberdeen forward said: “I remember Gary getting the job and straight away he phoned me up like ‘Niall, what happened last season? What are the players like?’ So straight away, good conversation.
“So I’ve came back pre-season and everything is good. Started pre-season flying, scored a few goals.
“We played Partick Thistle first game of the season and went 2-0 down at half-time, two horrendous defensive errors. He hooked me at half-time, which I don’t mind if you want to try and get another attacker on to try and get back in the game.
“But all in all, he just turned against me at that point for no major reason. I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of managers but how he treated me was outrageous.
“He made me train with the young team for three months. I think he was maybe trying to get me to leave on loan to free up wages to get other players in. But how how he treated me was shocking, to be honest.
“I just didn’t have a lot of time for it.”
McGinn fall-out contributed to Bowyer Dundee sacking
The Greenock Morton loanee, 37, is adamant the way he was treated by Bowyer played a part in the manager ending up sacked.
It certainly came as a bolt from the blue to anyone on the outside so the obvious assumption to make would be that there was something else going on.
McGinn says that was the case as Dundee chiefs didn’t take kindly to Bowyer’s behaviour.
He added: “I think a lot of that came down to why he got sacked. The chairman, and Gordon Strachan was there at the time, didn’t like the way I was treated.
“I’d done nothing wrong, I was there and contracted and turning up every day training.
“It came to the end of the season, Dundee were doing okay and won the league and he got sacked straight after.”