Dundee owners Tim Keyes and John Nelms have issued a staunch defence of their record in charge of the Dark Blues.
In a joint-statement printed in the match programme for Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle, the American duo also insisted this year will see the new stadium at Camperdown go ahead.
They offered a long list of new schemes and programmes that have progressed during their tenure at Dens Park, while the declaration kicked off with an appraisal of this season so far on the pitch, with the inference being that Keyes and Nelms remain fully-supportive of manager James McPake.
The statement, signed by both men, read: “2020 is going to be a big year for the club and as such we thought we would take a look back at the season leading up to this pinnacle year.
“This season started off with a new group of players and a new manager who needed to find their feet and gel as a team…a couple of good wins sprinkled with a couple of bad losses.
“October rolled around and we seemed to find our footing, collecting nine points and Championship player and manager of the month honours.
“November was one for the fans to forget and a month for hard lessons to be learned for both players and staff.
“But December saw the team take on board the lessons and started (sic) performing as we expect from a Dundee side.
“Credit to the players, but also credit to James McPake and his staff for understanding the deficiencies and managing the changes that needed to be made to bring success back on the park in a consistent manner.
“It is good to see and support the development of a young manager like James learning each match and building on the successes.”
There then followed a passage covering the key roles played by technical director Gordon Strachan and academy director Stephen Wright before Keyes and Nelms addressed what they called “staggering” improvements to Dundee’s infrastructure.
They wrote: “Over the years since we have been entrusted with the football club, the amount of improvements to the infrastructure of the club and facilities has been staggering, but the slow, steady growth puts us in a far better sustainable position as a club and a company for it.
“We have added two new training facilities (the Regional Perfromance Centre and Michelin) and upgraded a third facility by adding DFC-only pitches at Riverside.
“New women’s toilets in the South Enclosure, new laundry facility, new electrical system, new sound system, new IT systems, new sprinkler system, new fire protection system, new gym, new offices, new pitch each year, upgrades to the lounges and kitchens, new showers, new changing rooms, new DeeTV, new website, new Dee Promotions online lottery system DeeLotto, new kit supplier, new and more efficient ticketing system…the list goes on and on.
“This is the benefit of stability, and that is what we promised nearly seven years ago, and now our enduring commitment takes us into a new decade.”
That led on to the new stadium proposal and a determination to “get this thing built.”
The statement continued: “As such, 2020 will see the application being submitted for the new stadium complex near Campderdown Park.
“Most of the obstacles that were set before us have been sorted and it is time to kick on and get this thing built.”
They finished off with a thank you message for staff and supporters, and praise of the club’s charitable efforts.
“We have also introduced a new charity, DFC in the Community Trust, which has found its feet in a big way as 2020 will see double the community programmes being delivered here in our community, where it is needed most.
“New programmes include ‘Your Dee Future’ and ‘A Walk, a Blether and a Brew’ – our community health walks added to the expansion of the schools programmes, FFIT, the Memories Groups and much more.”
They added: “Finally, 2020 is going to be a big year for the club but we could not do it without the amazing staff who all work tirelessly behind the scenes to make this club what it is, and of course a massive thank you to all the fans who have supported the club and our efforts going into what is our seventh year – and long may it continue.”
