Since he became Dundee’s interim manager back in April, Neil McCann admits he’s been putting the hours in.
And in the month since he was confirmed as boss at Dens Park on a permanent basis, the time spent on the job hasn’t reduced any.
It’s just the nature of the work that’s changed.
“There’s been no change of pace. I was full at it in a different way at the end of last season,” said Neil.
“When I first arrived it was about us stopping losing goals and stopping losing games.
“It was full pelt for those last five games of the season and pre-season has started the same way.”
As the signings of Scott Allan, Roarie Deacon, Jamie Spence, Randy Wolters and now Jack Hendry have demonstrated, as well as getting his players ready for the new season, a lot of the hours Neil’s clocked up have been spent working on recruitment.
Even if he uses up his agreed budget for the year — he won’t reveal exactly how much that is — and as he works on building a team that wins matches, that’s not going to stop
“I am allowed to go and recruit to make us equipped to be more dominant in games,” said McCann.
“At times we will have to play a containment game, or play on the counter attack, but in some games we will impose ourselves and be dominant. Being able to do that comes down to recruitment.
“To that end I’ve brought in young Lewis Spence, who is a fantastic midfielder who will screen the back four.
“He is incredibly fit and aggressive and we needed that.
“We needed an enforcer. The other lads we have signed are in the front end of the pitch to win us games.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.