Jocky Scott and Barry Smith have more time at Dens Park than pretty much anybody.
The pair played in different eras but remarkably tallied up the same number of appearances in dark blue – 433 each, equal third in the club’s all-time appearance list.
Both also managed the club – Smith stepping in when the club needed a leader most and steering a makeshift squad to survival in the famous Deefiant campaign.
He would manage over 100 matches between 2010 and 2013 while Scott is the only man in the club’s history to take the manager’s job three times.
Those spells would spread across four decades with his first step into the hotseat coming in 1986 before he departed for the final time in 2010.
Two men whose histories are entwined with Dundee Football Club.
Key
The club’s latest manager is only just beginning his stay at Dens Park.
Both Jocky and Barry are fully aware of Tony Docherty’s capabilities and share the same conviction over what he needs most from Dundee.
He needs time.
That’s something modern day managers get very little of – last season saw seven Premiership managers dispensed with.
But, with the task in front of Docherty – an entirely new squad to assemble to compete in the top flight while taking the step up from assistant to manager – he’ll need that.
Barry told Courier Sport: “I know Tony very well and he is an excellent coach, he’s been with Derek McInnes for a long time.
“Personally I think it is good appointment, based on my knowledge of Tony as a coach.
“There is obviously a difference when you become a manager but he’ll know that having been with Derek (McInnes) for so long.
“You look at his experience – being so long at Aberdeen, being in cup finals, being in Europe.
“That won’t be in the near future but we hope Dundee can get back to being in cup finals and in Europe.
“It is small steps when a new manager comes in.
“Hopefully Tony gets the time to assemble a squad and to let it knit together.
“And he’s given time to show what he is capable of.
“At the moment, managers don’t get long enough. You look at last season and the number of managers who were sacked, a few in their first season. It’s terrible.
“So I hope Tony gets the time to build.”
One thing ‘he badly needs right now’
Jocky, too, is adamant Docherty’s ability as a coach will shine through if time is afforded to him.
Time, though, doesn’t stand still and there is a lot of work to be done over the next few weeks.
“I know Tony personally and he’s a very good coach,” Jocky added.
“He’s had a lot of experience under Derek McInnes but he’ll have his own ideas on how to go about the job.
“At the end of the day, the one thing he badly needs right now are players.
“There aren’t many players signed up obviously so he has a big job on his hands.
“First and foremost he has to get players in and get a team together.
“The aim is to stay in the Premiership, that’s the big target for this season.
“If they can do that then you look to build on top of that.
“But he’s got to be given the resources, the time and the backing.”
Stepping up
Another similarity between these two Dundee legends is their route into the dugout.
Both were members of the backroom staff before stepping up to the big job – Jocky worked under Archie Knox while Barry came in during the turmoil of administration.
It was also their first managerial appointment, just like Docherty.
The 52-year-old has spent 16 years as an assistant manager but being the man making the big decisions is a step up.
Barry added: “As an assistant you are sort of in-between. You have the opportunity to mix with the players, you are the players’ confidante at times.
“Tony is now the manager and there is a distance then between him and the players because some players aren’t confident going straight to the manager with certain things.
“Tony is approachable but he’ll also need someone he trusts alongside him.
“He knows how important the assistant manager role is – he’s the buffer between the players and the manager.
“But he’ll also know he can’t be too distant as manager because you need connection with the players.
“It’s about finding that balance.”
‘Totally different’
“Managing is totally different to coaching,” added Jocky.
“You are the one who makes the decisions, you make the decisions about the players’ livelihoods.
“You are re-signing players or looking to move them on when their contract ends.
“At times that is not an easy job to do, especially when you’ve built up a working relationship with them and you get attached to them.
“You have to make the decision on their future and sometimes the decision is not good.
“Sometimes you feel bad about it but it has to be done.
“It’s things like that, dealing with the players on an individual basis and dealing with the directors.
“Bringing new players in and convincing the directors they are the ones you should go for.
“It’s totally different to just going out on the training ground with the players.
“That’s where you do your work and it’s the best part of it.
“But Tony will know exactly what the job is, he’ll have picked up so much in his time as assistant manager.”
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