LEE WILKIE: Why Dundee sacking Tony Docherty was no shock
That football is a ruthless business shouldn't shock anybody – including those surprised by Dundee's decision to sack Tony Docherty.
The bottom line is simple: this season hasn't been good enough from the Dark Blues' point of view.
Yes, Docherty did really well over the last few weeks to rally his players and ultimately lead them away from the play-off spot and to safety from relegation.
But in the grand scheme of things, Dundee would have been expecting to have a much better season than that.
In fact, they would have been aiming to have a better season than they had last year, when they finished in the top six.
The fact that they were just five points shy of a European place would have been at the front of everyone's minds when they were setting new targets for this term.
Even without knowing exactly what they were, it feels a pretty safe bet to suggest they got nowhere near them.
Were there mitigating factors? Yes. Bad referee calls? Absolutely. Unlucky breaks? No doubt.
But after 38 games, the table has Dundee in 10th place, after a fight to cement safety that went all the way to the final day of the season.
For a club scarred by a few relegations in recent memory – but also one with big plans for the future that will be aided by a solid period of top flight stability – that's too close for comfort.
Now, I think Tony Docherty is a fantastic coach and a top manager.
He will have learned a huge amount from his first year as a boss in his own right, when things went well.
He'll have then learned even more this time around, when his team's form has been more bitty and challenges have been bigger.
But it's a results business – and you only need to suffer a handful of poor ones to find yourself under pressure.
Some will say Tony Docherty deserved more time at Dens Park – another summer to recharge and retool for another crack at the top six (and possibly even Europe).
But Dundee's owners have shown themselves before to be comfortable with 'shock' managerial changes.
Gary Bowyer's removal in May 2023, on the same day he was named Championship Manager of the Year, having led the Dee to the title and promotion, laid down one hell of a marker.
Sacking Docherty shows they're still not sentimental.
Whoever's next will at least be able to say they knew what they were getting into.
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