Latest news with #Dens
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Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Former Hibs ace named captain of Premiership rival in 'massive honour'
A former Hibs man has been bestowed with major responsibility elsewhere in the division. Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A former Hibs star has been named the new captain of a fellow Premiership side. The Easter Road side are preparing for the new season with Raphael Sallinger and Jamie McGrath signed up so far. There are other clubs across the league making decisions and Dundee have had a busy summer with former Hearts captain Steven Pressley arriving as head coach. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now another decision has been taken by the ex Jambo, with Simon Murray named his captain. He was a star player for the club last season after arriving from Ross County, having featured at Hibs between 2017-18. Former Hibs striker named Dundee captain Addressing the news, the striker said: 'It is a massive honour. Being from here, growing up as a Dundee fan and now getting that responsibility from the new gaffer is great and something that I am really proud of. 'We've had a few days in training and I had a good chat with the gaffer, he pulled me in and we had a really good chat and he said that he wanted me to be the captain. It was an easy decision for me to accept. I'm going to give it my all and I look forward to the challenge. 'I'm not going to change, the gaffer was pretty clear that he wants me just to be me. Just to bring what I bring, enthusiasm, hard work, and leadership skills and for me just be my own person and just keep doing what I'm doing. He said that was the reason that he chose me to be captain. The fans are our twelfth man, they are so important to us and hopefully, they are all back to Dens to spur us on again.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A club statement reads: 'Dundee Football Club can confirm that Simon Murray has been named as the new Club Captain. Simon who joined us last season will now captain The Dee, the club he supported as a boy. After a short loan spell in 2018, Simon returned to Dens last year and in his first season back played 46 times and scored 22 goals. At the end of the season awards Simon took home the Players Player of the Year trophy and the Andrew De Vries Player of the Year trophy.' What Steven Pressley wants to bring to Dundee Pressley said that stability is one of the things he wants to bring to Dundee. He told STV: 'I am really enjoying the job, we have some really good people within the club, the players have been really receptive and shown a really good attitude, so from that perspective it has been good. 'We have a lot of building to do and a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it's step by step. It's a club where we don't want so much change year to year, we want greater stability around the squad, so every summer we are just adding one or two players to the group. 'That is where we want to get to. At this moment in time, when you are bringing in ten or 11 players, you have to not only educate them on the principles of play, but also integrate them into the culture you want to bring. There is a lot of building to be done around that, but at the same time as doing that we have to get some results, so it is a real challenge.'
The Courier
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Courier
JIM SPENCE: Paper thin squads at Tannadice and Dens need attention NOW
Both bosses at Dundee and United can expect to come under quick pressure if they don't get recruitment right in the coming weeks. Many Dundee fans are angry at the appointment of Steven Pressley, and even with last season's success, there's still a section of United supporters lukewarm about Jim Goodwin. It was always thus in football with fickle fans. But with both squads currently paper thin, the pressure could mount sharply if decent signings aren't forthcoming. We'll find out soon enough just how attractive the city clubs are to the kind of players who could boost their prospects next season. How great will the lure of European football at Tannadice prove; and how tempting might the prospect be of working with Steven Pressley as manager and with a technical director like Gordon Strachan, at Dens? Both clubs face major rebuilds; Dundee have just twelve signed players while United have had 16 departures, so a host of new faces will soon be on view. With a wafer thin squad of his own, Jim Goodwin's renovation project will be extensive, with players required in all positions, and a first deal now set to be done for Moldovan defender Iurie Iovu. Repeating another top four finish while restructuring the personnel that achieved it last season will be a major challenge. Arabs and Dees will hope their clubs are on the ball and that player identification to rebuild for the new season is already well advanced. Football is fluid and new targets and potential signings often emerge suddenly, so while a range of targets will undoubtedly have been identified at both clubs, there's also the prospect of new signing opportunities appearing as the squads are revamped. United fans, whatever they think of the departed Glenn Middleton, will recognise that when the Tannadice coffers can't compete with those of Doncaster Rovers, then attracting quality is no easy task, and that applies 100 metres up the street too. That means the powers of persuasion and the personal contacts of those in charge must be worked to the max to lure at least the same calibre of loan players who proved successful last season. Both clubs will have to find unique selling points to attract some targets, because if it comes down to purely a cash contest, neither can compete with many third and in some cases fourth tier English clubs. I've seen some United fans say that Middleton should have stayed for the challenge of Europe, but at 25, while he's hardly Methuselah, a player at that stage maybe has only another two decent contracts in front of him. Weighed against the prospect of possibly a very short European campaign, I wouldn't blame any professional for putting the mortgage first. The youth academies at both clubs will hopefully continue to supplement the recruitment of loan players and other signings. Each team has lost talismen; notably Lyall Cameron at Dens and goal machine Sam Dalby at Tannadice. Replacing that quality will rigorously test recruitment strategies. As for Pressley's appointment, Dundee supporters should rally round and support him. He deserves a fair crack of the whip to see what his team looks like and what he's trying to build before fans rush to judgement.
The Courier
02-06-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Steven Pressley appointment sparks Dundee fan fury
Dundee fans have reacted furiously to the appointment of Steven Pressley as the club's head coach. Shaun Maloney, Charlie Adam, Temuri Ketsbaia, Scott Brown and David Healy were all linked with the vacancy following the shock sacking of Tony Docherty by Dens chief John Nelms. But on Monday afternoon, former United, Celtic, Hearts and Scotland defender Pressley was announced as Docherty's replacement. And supporters immediately voiced their anger on social media. @DensParkChoir wrote on X: 'Happy to eat my words if I have to. 'F***ing honking appointment from Dundee. F*** off. 'Vastly underwhelming. 'If Pressley was the standout candidate then who, legitimately, was on that shortlist? 'He has my backing and I hope he proves everyone wrong but f*** me this is disappointing. 'Makes sacking Docherty look mental now…This feels like nightmare fuel.' @Type232 added: 'Just when you think this club has peaked with the banter, they do this. 'A f***ing horrendous decision. Get right in the f***ing bin.' @grazer 33 said: 'This will be the lowest season ticket sales in history. Not been a manager since 2019 and is the outstanding candidate! Only Dundee.' The appointment came on the same day the Dark Blues confirmed an extension to the club's Super Early Bird season ticket deal for the 2025/26 campaign to Friday June 6. @Darkblue63 wrote: 'I want my season ticket money back.' @soccermarsh1 called it 'the most underwhelming appointment in the history of Dundee Football Club'. Like several of the names linked with the Dens vacancy, Pressley – nicknamed Elvis – worked with Dark Blues technical director Gordon Strachan during his playing days. @Liam_DFC said: 'Strachan out.' @charlie_t_2004 wrote: 'Are season tickets refundable?' @Caledonia1893 said: 'Is this for real? Has the official account been hacked?' @CraigMotion3 added: 'Wow, just wow. Thank f*** I held off on season ticket renewal.' Others took aim at Dundee managing director Nelms. @SorareOnABudget wrote: 'He has overseen failure after failure. 'If the club genuinely thought this appointment would result in a rush on season tickets, it just shows how f***ing incompetent they really are.' @jackhayes_ said: 'Get Nelms out. Ruining the club.' @cassidy_kev wrote: 'Hope all the Tony Docherty haters have a great season.'
The Courier
30-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
JIM SPENCE: Does anyone know what Gordon Strachan Dundee 'philosophy' comments mean?
It sounds like big things are expected of Dundee's next manager, but is anyone clear as to what they are? Technical director Gordon Strachan says there'll be a new philosophy at Dens, but what that means is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Having shipped goals like a sieve last season, does it mean the team will be much less cavalier in attack and much more defensively astute? And if keeping the team in the Premiership, albeit narrowly, wasn't sufficient to save Tony Docherty's job, what targets have been set for his replacement (the Dark Blues' third boss in four years)? If Doc's results fell short of the standard expected, as the club said, just what standards are acceptable? Presumably, the expectations will be clearly outlined to the new manager, and the extent of them may have a bearing on which candidates fancy the job. It's one thing setting ambitious and exacting standards; it's another to provide the resources to allow a manager to meet them.
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
JIM SPENCE: New Dundee manager must lift Dark Blues out of United's shadow
Dundee FC face a huge decision in appointing their new manager. After a top six finish two seasons ago, followed by a relegation scrap in the season just ended, the quest for long-term stability at Dens Park remains frustratingly elusive. An unwise choice could set them back years; an inspired appointment could signal success for seasons to come. Many, including me, feel that Tony Docherty was harshly treated. But football is a brutal business and results are all that count. I'd be surprised if Dee managing director John Nelms hadn't had a fair idea of who he would like as new boss before he sacked his manager, Whoever is unveiled, with the new stadium project still being faced with planning hurdles, these are crucial days for the club. Dundee's ambition should always be to be better than United, and vice versa. The new man who'll replace Tony Docherty will know that living in the shadow of their neighbours, as the Dark Blues have done for many years, is unacceptable to many supporters. Changing that long-standing situation, though, is very difficult and it'll take a big character as the new manager to do that. Tony Docherty paid the ultimate managerial price after the club's brush with relegation, but the fact that United finished in fourth place and qualified for Europe wouldn't have helped his case when Nelms, who has been at Dens since 2013, made the decision to fire him. Both clubs remaining in the top flight is great for the city, but when it comes to recruitment for next season, United remain the more attractive club for any potential signings. Their European qualification – along with their cemented reputation as one of Scotland's top six clubs – makes Tannadice a more desirable destination than Dens this summer. Tangerines manager Jim Goodwin's reputation has been firmly enhanced by the job he's done in securing a finish above clubs like Aberdeen and Hearts, who massively outgun his wage bill, and United's excellent training facilities in St Andrews are also a strong lure for players. However, Dundee's next choice of boss could affect that situation. It's reckoned that John Nelms was disappointed that, despite what he regarded as a strong wage budget and investment, the team still ended up in a basement battle. If he unveils a high-profile figure as new manager, that could make Dundee a strong proposition for players they identify as targets to challenge United, and in aiming for regular top six credentials, which should be their ambition. Spotting players who can do a job for the club is one thing; selling the club and location to those players is another. However, a manager with a big reputation, perhaps as a former player at a successful club, can be a significant factor in persuading ambitious players to come and play for him. And if he has strong links to a big club, the possibilities of a couple of good loan deals from them to bolster his squad is another bonus. Rarely has an incoming manager at Dens faced such weighty expectations at a club where the axe has fallen on eight bosses during John Nelms reign.
