A LOT has happened at Dens Park since the last time I stuck my column in here.
Dundee fans and managing director John Nelms have been butting heads a little over all these letters.
Throw in a stadium announcement and I don’t think I’ll be able to fit everything in!
There’s no doubt Dundee’s poor form over this season has contributed to all the anger or sometimes apathy from the stands.
But it also comes from a breakdown somewhere in the connection between the club and the fans.
And, in Dundee’s position, that is something they just can’t afford.
Bottom of the Premiership with their nearest rivals four points ahead, the Dark Blues need everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.
Players
The players certainly do.
On the whole, they won’t be too affected by all that’s going on off the pitch.
But there are a few local lads where that is a risk.
The likes of Cammy Kerr, who holds the club very close to his heart, and Paul McGowan as well, having been there so long.
It does, though, make their life much easier if everyone at the club is pulling together.
But there seems to be a fair bit of work needed to get that to be the case.
Nelms and the board should be pulling out all the stops, really going to town with their PR to get the fans back onside so they can all help the team.
Because, if they don’t, it feels like relegation is on the cards.
Open letter
In terms of the requests made in the open letter last week, a lot of them are fair enough.
To me, an AGM should be a requirement for every club in Scotland.
We are fairly small clubs up here, it’s not like we’re talking Manchester United.
Fans of Dundee are generally local people with real feeling towards their club.
They want to be able to do their part, feel like they are contributing to the success of their team.
It doesn’t feel like there’s much of an opportunity to do that right now.
I was at the club when the first administration hit and that’s what happened – the fans rallied around the club, raised so much money and everyone stuck together.
This situation is obviously different but the team needs the same sort of attitude from the fans.
Everybody fighting for the same thing, so they can feel like one team together.
Timing of stadium announcement
On the stadium update, it all looks pretty exciting.
But the timing isn’t great.
The team is bottom of the Premiership, facing relegation and the fans are unhappy,
feeling disenchanted.
So, coming out with all this stadium news sticks in the craw a little.
The biggest thing they have to do now is back up all this talk and make it happen.
So there is a lot of work on for Dundee’s owners to build some bridges and, hopefully, in the process help the team by rallying the support.
Because this weekend is a big game, only wins are useful now.
And distractions don’t help.
