Both bosses at Dundee and United can expect to come under quick pressure if they don’t get recruitment right in the coming weeks.
Many Dundee fans are angry at the appointment of Steven Pressley, and even with last season’s success, there’s still a section of United supporters lukewarm about Jim Goodwin.
It was always thus in football with fickle fans.
But with both squads currently paper thin, the pressure could mount sharply if decent signings aren’t forthcoming.
We’ll find out soon enough just how attractive the city clubs are to the kind of players who could boost their prospects next season.
How great will the lure of European football at Tannadice prove; and how tempting might the prospect be of working with Steven Pressley as manager and with a technical director like Gordon Strachan, at Dens?
Both clubs face major rebuilds; Dundee have just twelve signed players while United have had 16 departures, so a host of new faces will soon be on view.
With a wafer thin squad of his own, Jim Goodwin’s renovation project will be extensive, with players required in all positions, and a first deal now set to be done for Moldovan defender Iurie Iovu.
Repeating another top four finish while restructuring the personnel that achieved it last season will be a major challenge.
Arabs and Dees will hope their clubs are on the ball and that player identification to rebuild for the new season is already well advanced.
Football is fluid and new targets and potential signings often emerge suddenly, so while a range of targets will undoubtedly have been identified at both clubs, there’s also the prospect of new signing opportunities appearing as the squads are revamped.
United fans, whatever they think of the departed Glenn Middleton, will recognise that when the Tannadice coffers can’t compete with those of Doncaster Rovers, then attracting quality is no easy task, and that applies 100 metres up the street too.
That means the powers of persuasion and the personal contacts of those in charge must be worked to the max to lure at least the same calibre of loan players who proved successful last season.
Both clubs will have to find unique selling points to attract some targets, because if it comes down to purely a cash contest, neither can compete with many third and in some cases fourth tier English clubs.
I’ve seen some United fans say that Middleton should have stayed for the challenge of Europe, but at 25, while he’s hardly Methuselah, a player at that stage maybe has only another two decent contracts in front of him.
Weighed against the prospect of possibly a very short European campaign, I wouldn’t blame any professional for putting the mortgage first.
The youth academies at both clubs will hopefully continue to supplement the recruitment of loan players and other signings.
Each team has lost talismen; notably Lyall Cameron at Dens and goal machine Sam Dalby at Tannadice. Replacing that quality will rigorously test recruitment strategies.
As for Pressley’s appointment, Dundee supporters should rally round and support him.
He deserves a fair crack of the whip to see what his team looks like and what he’s trying to build before fans rush to judgement.
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