Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Who is Gary Bowyer? Dundee managerial front-runner’s career assessed, from short-lived playing days to Salford City ‘loan’

Former Salford City boss Gary Bowyer.
Former Salford City manager Gary Bowyer is big favourite for the Dundee job.

Gary Bowyer is now clear favourite to land the Dundee job after a lengthy recruitment process.

There have been 23 days since Mark McGhee’s reign ended at Dens Park with a 2-1 defeat at Livingston.

How many more there are before an appointment, we’ll just have to wait and see.

But if Bowyer is the man for the Dee, what can fans expect?

Early retirement

Bowyer’s playing days were short-lived.

In 1990, the young full-back was signed by Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.

It was a club he knew well – his father Ian Bowyer had won two European Cups, a European Super Cup, a league title and a League Cup in his time at the City Ground.

However, Bowyer Jnr didn’t play a single game for Forest before signing at Rotherham United.

A back injury forced him into retirement at the age of just 25 and he moved into coaching.

Last-minute

Gary Bowyer shares a laugh with Scotland international Grant Hanley during the Dundee candidate’s time at Blackburn.

After a spell at Derby County, Bowyer moved to Blackburn as under-18 coach in 2004. Then up to reserve coach in 2008.

Amid the chaos of the Venky’s takeover at Ewood Park, Bowyer emerged as first-team manager in 2013 after two spells as caretaker boss.

His first opportunity as interim gaffer came with just 24 hours notice ahead of a game against Barnsley.

“We just went: ‘Wow! We’re playing Barnsley tomorrow,’” Bowyer told the Independent after Henning Berg’s dismissal in January 2013.

“It wasn’t a case of enjoyment or hating it. It was like: ‘God, it’s Friday, we have to get a team ready for Saturday!’”

They won 3-1 and Bowyer kept them up in his second spell as caretaker after next full-time boss Michael Appleton lasted just two months at Ewood Park.

After being handed the job on a permanent basis, Bowyer earned eighth and ninth placed finishes in the Championship over the next two seasons.

The third went sour, however, and he was sacked in November 2015.

Arresting the slide

Dundee target Gary Bowyer led Blackpool to promotion from League Two via the play-offs.

After that, he took charge of a Blackpool side who had dropped from the Premier League to League Two in just four years. Bowyer arrested that slide by guiding them to seventh and winning the play-offs.

After promotion to League One, the Seasiders finished in the top half before Bowyer resigned after just one match of the 2018/19 campaign.

A year at Bradford City followed, with a 29% win ratio seeing his time with the Bantams end early,

‘On loan’ at Salford

After returning to Derby in a coaching role, an agreement was reached between Rams boss Wayne Rooney and Salford co-owner Gary Neville for Bowyer to take over as the Manchester club’s manager for the final 11 matches of the season.

It was effectively a loan deal and Bowyer grabbed his chance, winning the League Two manager of the month award as Salford finished the season well.

Gary Bowyer could soon find himself in the Dundee technical area

He was given a two-year deal at the club that summer but lasted just one season in charge.

Demeanour

Gary Bowyer: Dundee candidate

Bowyer is described as a quiet man but quick with a joke and with strong man-management skills.

When he joined Salford, the Athletic wrote: “The jovial, good-humoured Bowyer has been well received at (Derby).

“Behind the scenes he is greatly appreciated for his work and a laugh is never far away with him around, though that light-hearted nature is never mistaken for a lack of discipline either.”

What they said about him

Former Bradford City goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell said of Bowyer’s arrival at Valley Parade: “There was a lot of optimism when Gary came in because he was very well liked within the club. He was a good guy.

“But the fans didn’t appreciate the style of football that he played.

“They expect and demand a certain way of playing and if that’s not happening and the results aren’t going well, then they let people know.”

When Bowyer got the Salford job full-time, club captain Ash Eastham wrote on Twitter: “His positivity, professional demands and man-management skills have been reflected in the team’s performances and results since he joined the club.”

Dundee manager search: Former Blackburn and Salford City boss Gary Bowyer emerges as frontrunner for Dens Park job

Conversation