Former Scotland boss Gordon Strachan continues to pass on “nuggets” of information to the Dundee academy.
Despite his dual role behind the scene at Celtic, the Dens Park technical director is still very much hands-on with the Dark Blues youth setup.
And academy chief Stephen Wright says the former Parkhead, Southampton, Coventry and national team boss’s experience continues to make a positive impact at Dundee.
“He’s still very much involved,” Wright said.
“He was up at training last week and he’s been talking a lot with the coaches.
“He’s been doing sessions with our coaches, helping them out, and they pass that on to the players.
“Just a short chat about football with Gordon, you learn so much. He just loves talking about the game and passing on information.
“There are some real nuggets he passes on to our coaches, it’s fantastic.
“It really is great for me, too. Just standing watching a game with him is an education. I’ve coached plenty but there’s nothing like being Scotland manager and all the pressure that brings.
“Some of the stories he has are great and he brings so much to our academy.”
Academy products
Wright is also delighted to see a number of Dundee academy graduates making an impact in senior football.
Max Anderson has proved a key player for the first team at Dens this term while the likes of Fin Robertson, Josh Mulligan and Lyall Cameron are out on loan.
Teenager Callum Lamb is also a name that’s appeared on first-team substitute lists of late.
Callum Lamb is in the matchday squad for the first time this afternoon
Adam, Griffiths, Jakubiak and Mullen miss out through injury #thedee pic.twitter.com/SoxjDCbzQ9
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) October 2, 2021
Another academy product, Wright says the youngster will have gained so much from being part of the squad against Celtic last week.
“Callum has been with the academy for years,” Wright added.
“He was one who came through the SFA Performance School, the programme we are working to emulate.
“He’s been doing well with the U/18s and its good to see him in and around the first team.
“Just being on the bench will give him so much experience, being there on matchdays around the experienced players, listening to team talks, he’ll learn so much.
“He’s a perfect example for the academy and has taken to being a full-time player really well and you can see the difference in him.
“He’s come on a lot under Scott Robertson.”
Former Rangers, Liverpool and Dundee United defender assisting Scott Robertson
Under-18 boss Robertson, meanwhile, has been joined by a player who picked up Uefa Cup, European Super Cup and FA Cup winner’s medals in his playing days.
Former Liverpool and Rangers defender Gregory Vignal, who also had a brief spell at Dundee United, has been giving a helping hand.
Wright knows the Frenchman well from his time coaching at Rangers where Vignal spent time with the Ibrox youth setup and women’s team.
“The U/18s have been doing great, we have a few of the U/18s out on loan at Junior clubs, too, and Scott has been doing a fine job with the 18s,” Wright added.
“He’s being helped right now by Gregory Vignal. Gregory is someone I coached with at Rangers so I know him well and it’s great to have him in assisting Scott.
“We’ve also had Scott Paterson in working with the Performance School, he was a long-time assistant of Alan Archibald at Partick Thistle.”
On the state of the academy following the pandemic shutdown, former Scotland defender Wright added: “We’re are fully back to normal now, fully into things again. Our coaches are all back and we’ve had a few new ones come in, too.
“Everyone has been bursting to get back in again since we got the green light.”
