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JIM SPENCE: In Gary Bowyer, Dundee have landed a manager in-tune with their hopes and dreams

Dundee manager Gary Bowyer celebrates in front of the Dundee support after beating Raith Rovers. Image: SNS.
Dundee manager Gary Bowyer celebrates in front of the Dundee support after beating Raith Rovers. Image: SNS.

Gary Bowyer is hopefully at the start of his Dens Park odyssey.

With Dundee top of the Championship, winning six of seven games played and possessing a team full of energy and zip, Dark Blues fans feel they’ve landed a manager in-tune with their hopes and dreams.

I spoke to him recently and he’s clearly enjoying the city and has a grasp of the history and traditions of the club.

Football is a fast-changing landscape and the old adage ‘you’re only as good as your last game’ is a constant companion.

Even allowing for the usual early season optimism though, there’s a definite sense of progress at Dens.

A combative spirit and real verve are evident in Bowyer’s squad; that was tangible in their determination to win the game with two late goals v Arbroath.

I’ve been particularly impressed by the energy and drive of Luke McCowan and Josh Mulligan, but the early signs are that the whole squad has the required resilience for the promotion push.

And that has to be the sole focus at Dens, where the big fan base is desperate to see the good times roll again.

Gary Bowyer’s made the kind of rocking good start which may grant them their wish.


Jack Ross.
Dundee United boss Jack Ross

Dundee United need to find their rhythm to kick start their season.

I ran the Dundee marathon in 2 hours 51 minutes when I was at university.

It was a decent effort, but even when I had plenty time to train, rest and was at my fittest, if I’d didn’t hit my rhythm quickly in training runs I often plowtered like a cart horse.

Hitting that rhythmic sweet spot is important in football.

Getting off to a bad start can play on the mind and hamper confidence.

United must find their missing flow soon or risk their season slip away.

They’ve got the players to find that missing beat, but they’ll need to put the grim results at Alkmaar and Hearts behind them to locate it.

Jack Ross will accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative as he seeks to steady the ship after their miserable start.

United fell to defeat against Robbie Neilson’s Hearts last weekend

In both recent games they were unzipped by teams smart in their all round movement, speed of thought and passing.

Goalkeeper Mark Birighitti made some errors but he shouldn’t be the whipping boy for overall performances, which were the failings of the team.

He’ll certainly want to ensure that, having conceded 13 goals in 4 starts, that his handling improves and that he gets greater distance when he parries or punches, but it’s too early to cast aspersions on his overall abilities.

There are few jobs where performance is dissected as publicly as football.

‘Brutal’ assessment

Players and coaches’ capabilities are assessed in brutal fashion on radio, TV, newspapers and in workplaces, so players need to be buoyant mentally to keep the doubters and critics from getting to them.

United are bruised, but they’re not a bad team.

They need their fortitude and self-belief nourished and nurtured to hit their stride.

St Mirren are potential victims in what’ll hopefully be a quick Tannadice recovery.

PODCAST: Mark Birighitti’s Dundee United flak, St Johnstone’s new striker profile and Gary Bowyer giving Dundee fans what they want

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