It is football not finance that is at the heart of Tim Keyes’ involvement in Dundee.
The American, who is celebrating the second anniversary of Football Partners Scotland’s takeover of the Dark Blues, has revealed what motivated him try out Scottish football.
It is reasonable to question why a US business man would be interested in owning a controlling interest in a club here when he could take his pick from the range of companies owned by Keyes Capital – from medical suppliers to real estate investors back in his homeland.
Indeed, given the dark financial history of Dundee that has seen two administrations, it was understandable and sensible for supporters to be cautious when this Texan investor came calling.
Keyes has understood and accepted that wariness but he wants to be judged on what happens now rather than dwell on the past.
For the 46-year-old, the reason he bought into Dundee through the family firm is simple – he likes football.
Indeed, Keyes played the game to a high standard in America, turning out for Stanford University and mixing with the likes of Tab Ramos, Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller, who would go on to become US internationals.
He joked that he was a “Thommo” in reference to the midfield role that both he and Dens skipper Kevin Thomson have filled.
However, with his playing days behind him, for Keyes it is about staying involved in the game he loves.
“I grew up playing football your football and our soccer from the age of four or five,” he said.
“I was at Stanford University in the late 1980s and that was really as high a level as you could go in American soccer.
“The MLS (Major League Soccer) wasn’t around then and if you were really good then you could play in Europe but not many people did that.
“Some of the players I played against at university level were the majority of the US players in the 1994 World Cup team guys like Ramos, Friedel and Keller.
“They all came through the college system.
“I played at a pretty good level and then went into business after that.
“So my family has always had a passion for football.
“Fast forward to around five years ago and I met (fellow Dundee investor) John Nelms after he moved to Austin to run our youth club there.
“John and I became good friends. He thought it would be a great opportunity to go to the UK.
“We homed in on Scotland to buy a club and run it in a proper business fashion that’s what I would call it.
“We run a lot of businesses in the United States and I think we can run the club here like a business where you are not way overspending.
“That is the genesis of it and John and I then came over, looked around at different clubs and Dundee were one of those teams. As we got to know Dundee and the history of the club including the way it was mismanaged over the years we saw a great opportunity.”
To his credit, Keyes took it in his stride when it was suggested to him that his friends must have thought he was daft to delve into Scottish football.
Indeed, he recalled that former Dens chairman Bill Colvin had those very doubts himself.
Keyes said: “Even when I first met Bill Colvin and Steve Martin as potential local partners, Bill asked me: ‘What are you doing? Why do you want to invest in Scottish football?
“He couldn’t believe it but I told him that we had a passion for football since growing up as kids, thought it could be a good business opportunity and also a lot of fun!
“What I want to see is Dundee grow to be one of the top clubs in Scotland.
“We are not really looking at this to make money.
“We don’t want to lose money but we are not going to be taking profits and going home.
“That’s not why we are here.
“So if we do sell a player, for example, the money will go back into the club.
“This is different to the other businesses we (Keyes Capital) own.
“They are much more profit-driven while here it is on more of a break-even basis.
“However, long term I think the strategy can be, like a lot of other clubs, having a strong first team while building up the youth academy.
“You have big brother next door in the shape of the English Premier League that has so much money that if you can get the right development of your players then that may be where you will see profit which can be reinvested in the club.
“You want to keep players for as long as you can but if the right price comes along then you have to look at it.”
Just such a player could be striker Greg Stewart.
Keyes said: “That is probably more a question for Paul (Hartley) and John than for me but obviously Greg is a fantastic player and we could see behind us at the game that there were around nine scouts, maybe not all there for Greg.
“The better we play on the park, the more other clubs will be looking at our players.”
Keyes added that there were no immediate plans to buy Dens Park back off owner John Bennett.
He said: “We have not been actively involved in that. It’s not something we have examined yet although we may do in future.”