Painful as sacking a man he enjoyed a close working relationship with was, Dundee managing director John Nelms agrees the events of the past 48 hours show the strength of the long-term commitment he and fellow American Tim Keyes have for the club.
If multi-millionaire Keyes and Nelms, his man on the ground in Scotland, were simply here for a bit of fun only to bail out when things got tough, Paul Hartley would have been taking training today.
The fact he was dismissed is as tangible proof as you’ll get they’re here for the long haul. The intention to establish the Dark Blues as a club operating in the top six of the Premiership is as strong as ever.
Keyes is expected in Dundee shortly but, while he’s been taking a keen interest in the team’s fortunes and will have an input into who the new manager will be, during his visit he’ll be focusing on plans for a new stadium near the city’s Camperdown Park.
And even if the unthinkable — relegation — happens, he’ll be forging ahead with that project. Nelms has made that crystal clear.
“We have a long-term commitment, we still have the plans and those plans are moving forward.
“Unfortunately, what’s happened is just part of the business we’re in. It’s not an easy part but it is part of it.
“Our long-term plan is the same, that hasn’t changed at all. We have already started planning for next year and to be plugging the holes we need to plug. We want to make the team better.”
Nelms has also clarified how his relationship with his close friend works and in doing so accepts full responsibility for the sacking of a man who was regarded as one of the best young managers around when he was appointed three years ago.
“It would have been difficult for Tim to make the decision (to sack Hartley) because he’s not here day-to-day so doesn’t have all the information.
“We have a board of directors who are here and who do see what’s going on.
“That’s the way it’s been since day one and that’s how it will continue.”
The determination to achieve long-term success meant Nelms has no doubt a change of manager was necessary. It does not mean he found sacking a man he admires easy.
“I have a lot of respect for Paul. He’s a very good manager and a hard worker, so it was a hard thing to do.
“It is something which weighed heavily on my mind, it does when you make a decision like this.
“But we have been looking at this for a while, it’s not a knee-jerk reaction but a decision taken over a length of time.
“We have looked at it cautiously and conservatively, we don’t do things knee-jerk. Football is a results-based business and it was felt that we need a change.”
Despite what’s happened, his belief in Hartley’s ability remains firm. At the start of the season he did not envisage being in a position where the team desperately needs to hit form over the last five games to avoid a relegation play-off or even worse.
“I am surprised, because the players we’ve brought in, when I look at the players from some of the other teams, I wouldn’t trade ours for theirs.
“This year we’ve been either fantastic and gone ‘wow’ or we’ve been really poor.
“That’s hard to get to grips with and has been kind of tough. That’s where we’ve had a struggle.”
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