Gary Bowyer plans to use lessons learned during a successful spell at Blackpool as he sets about installing a new culture at Dundee.
The 50-year-old was unveiled as the new Dens Park boss on Wednesday with the Dark Blues bidding to bounce back from relegation.
Dundee dropped back into the Championship after a poor season in the top flight and saw two managers dispensed with in the shape of, first, James McPake and then Mark McGhee.
That disappointment prompted managing director John Nelms to move technical director Gordon Strachan into a more hands-on role as they search for a new Dundee “identity”.
In searching for a new manager, Bowyer ticked many boxes for the Dundee chiefs due to his experience and ability with young players.
But the job he did at Blackpool no doubt tipped the balance in his favour.
‘Similar challenge’
The former Blackburn boss took over at Bloomfield Road shortly after a second successive relegation for the Seasiders.
The former Premier League outfit had dropped from the Championship to League Two amid serious issues between the fans and the Oyston family who owned the club.
That saw supporters boycott matches with relations between club and the fanbase at an all-time low.
Bowyer, though, galvanised the team and led them to the play-off final, beating Exeter City 2-1 at Wembley.
“It definitely is a similar challenge,” Bowyer said of the season ahead at Dundee.
“At Blackpool, it was well publicised the trouble they were having with the fans and the owners but we just concentrated on the pitch.
“Fans boycotted games and that was unique.
“We just concentrated on what we could control and that was training really hard, playing really hard, getting a collective team spirit and realising that we were all in it together.
“It wasn’t about the individual, it was about the team.
“From that environment we produced a team that got promoted.
“Out of it, we had lads who got moves to the English Championship and progressed their careers.
“That’s what I want to do here.”
Adversity
The following season, Bowyer led Blackpool to a top-half finish in League One but left the club after just one match of the following campaign.
He added: “They had experienced two consecutive relegations and we went in that year, worked very hard, set our standards out very early with the players, to set the right environment and change the mindset from losing games to a winning culture.
“I see very similar settings here now, that we will want to implement from the first day of pre-season.
“I have had quite a few experiences of adversity in my career but they have all been fabulous and you learn from them.
“As you go along they help you, you see things and you know how to deal with them.
“So what’s happened in the past all adds up to make you more prepared for what you do next.”
Transfer plans?
Having never worked in Scotland previously, Bowyer admits there is much to get to grips with.
Analysing the quality he has to work with at Dens Park will be one of his first jobs as Dundee boss when pre-season starts next week.
He plans to supplement the existing squad using both his knowledge of the game down south and the knowledge of Scottish football that already exists at the club.
But Bowyer admits there will inevitably be one or two current players who head for pastures new.
“There might be some there who feel they might want to go elsewhere and play at a higher level,” the ex-Bradford boss added.
“I’ve got to have those conversations with them.
“I am not one of these managers who is daft enough to think we are going to keep every player here.
“I’ll assess the squad over the first couple of weeks and see where we’re at.
“It’s a clean slate for everybody.
“And obviously if we feel there are players out there in the market, in England and Scotland, who we feel could come in and enhance the squad, that’s something we’d take to the board and say, ‘listen, this lad’s achievable and we think he’d fit in with what we’re trying to build, let’s get this done.’”
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