Steven Pressley is preaching patience at Dundee – will he get it?

The Herald Scotland

3 days ago

Unfortunately the rest of last season didn't go according to plan. Docherty ultimately lost his job for his team sliding backwards to tenth place, but while he deserves sympathy for the Luke McCowan sale to Celtic and some severe injury trouble along his backline – Clark Robertson, Joe Shaughnessy and Ziyad Larkeche all missed significant chunks of the season – there were a few issues which meant that, when Dundee did pull the trigger on firing their head coach, not everyone of a dark blue persuasion in the City of Discovery was entirely surprised.
Even with injuries, there was still little excuse for the team shipping 145 goals in 76 league games across two seasons (an average of 1.9 per game), while many fans were getting fed up with his infatuation with the three-at-the-back formation, something which they felt contributed to their inability to keep the opposition score down.
Sacking Docherty wasn't necessarily the wrong decision, at least not in isolation. But as is always the case, if you're going to make such a decisive call at the managerial level, you'd better get the next one right.
Steven Pressley was not a popular appointment as Docherty's successor. Not only is he a former Dundee United player, he hadn't managed a team in six years prior to his appointment and lasted less than 12 months at each of his last three stops. But even the most trepidatious of fans wouldn't have expected the nightmare that has so far unfolded. Consecutive 1-0 defeats to Airdrieonians and Alloa Athletic had them out of the Premier Sports Cup before they'd even got going, while they were five minutes from drawing with Lowland League Bonnyrigg Rose.
On the face of it, a 2-1 home defeat to Hibs in the Premiership home opener wasn't an awful scoreline. Since going down 4-1 at Dens last November, David Gray's side have only lost at Celtic Park (thrice) and Pittodrie (once) in domestic football. However, it was the manner in which the defeat occurred which rankled with home fans.
Dundee allowed Hibs to have 68 per cent possession, mustered only two shots on goal and were fortunate not to lose by a greater margin. This was a Hibs team who played 120 gruelling minutes against Midtjylland three days prior, where they had their heart ripped out and showed to them in the dying seconds of extra-time. Yet instead of getting in their face and testing their mental (and physical) resolve, Pressley's men spent the entire game backing off, allowing Hibs to get comfortable with their surroundings and dominate the game.
In last week's column I boldly predicted that Falkirk would finish bottom of the Premiership. Having watched both teams at the weekend, I now wonder whether I didn't fully appreciate the extent of the mess Dundee are in. Curious tactics aside, the team certainly appeared weaker than the spirited Falkirk squad that twice came back to draw with Dundee United. Ethan Ingram and Imari Samuels starting at the wing-back positions was a huge red flag, considering neither appeared to be the required quality at this level last term. In between them was a centre-back trio that contained Robertson and Ryan Astley, who failed to impress in 2024/25, while the early signs weren't great for new strike-partnership Emile Acquah and Ashley Hay.
There's been a stark contrast in how the two Dundee rivals have approached squad-building this summer, and not just with regards to the quickness of getting deals done. Six of Dundee's eight new additions have arrived from English clubs, while Dundee United have (infamously) done most of their shopping abroad. Their non-Scots XI against UNA Strassen in the Europa Conference League provoked a furious reaction from some quarters, due to a perception that they're needlessly blocking pathways for young Scottish players. Yet United have insisted they've largely looked outwith UK borders to get better value for money, believing that the inordinate wages down south are pricing out most of the players who would be worth having.
That would marry with Pressley's frustrations, expressed this week. The head coach insists they're still trying to bring in another five players before the end of the window, which is why the manager is preaching patience to anyone within the support who still has the mind to listen, but he admits it's been a difficult process with key targets opting to move elsewhere.
The 51-year-old didn't inherit the best of situations, with 11 first-team players (and at least seven regular starters) all leaving this past summer. But the approach to replacing them has been slow and, thus far, underwhelming. Furthermore, we're already in August and Dundee don't just need squad fillers. They need quality starting players. That's increasingly difficult at this late juncture.
At least there is Simon Murray to come back. He single-handedly kept his boyhood favourites above water last term and it seems like he'll be given a similarly Ethan Hunt-esque mission this time around. Though asking a 33-year-old to carry ten other guys on his back doesn't sound like the most full-proof of plans.
Next up for the Dees is a trip to Ibrox, which is then followed by a visit to Kilmarnock before United cross Tannadice Street for the first derby of the campaign. If there are still zero points on the board at the end of August then the supporters will already be fully mutinous. Would it be enough to move chief executive John Nelms into making a change of manager? The American has certainly never been shy of making some bold managerial calls before, such as binning James McPake following successive victories and dispensing with Gary Bowyer after he'd won the second-tier crown.
One suspects he is committed to the fresh strategy of focusing intensely on player development. Rolled out earlier this year, it was a key driver in bringing Pressley in from Brentford – where he was literally in charge of player development – so you'd maybe expect a bit more leeway as Nelms, whether publicly or privately, explains away this sombre start as nothing more extreme than growing pains. Lending credence to this theory is the two and three-year contracts they've been giving out to some of the new recruits as Pressley stresses the importance of continuity.
But while Nelms will wish to hold a steely resolve and see this plan through, it's easier said than done when the rest of the league is once again pointing and laughing; the intensity of such will only grow with each passing defeat. Pressley has stated this is a process. If he wants to be around for its conclusion he's going to have to hurry it along.