Gary Bowyer on leaders at Dundee: If people thought it wasn’t their place, they now know it is

Dundee boss Gary Bowyer has demanded more of his team “step up and become leaders” after the weekend defeat to Partick Thistle.

A team meeting on Monday morning saw the Dens Park boss set out the requirement for more players to find their voice when things get tough on the pitch.

Bowyer also revealed leadership is an attribute he’s looking for in potential new additions to his squad.

When asked about Paul McGowan’s absence after the 3-2 defeat to the Jags on Saturday, Bowyer said more leaders were needed.

Team meeting

Now, after the dust has settled a little, he has expanded on that after speaking to the playing squad at the start of the new week.

“We need more leaders, one hundred percent,” the Dundee boss said.

“That has to come from within the group, the players who are here and it’s also something we look for in players we’re interested in.

“I spoke to the players about it on Monday morning, we need them to step up and become leaders.

“The players welcomed it, it’s not something you should be asking for but people are different.

“If people thought it wasn’t their place, they now know that it is – no matter how old you are or how long you’ve been in the team.

“We have senior players like Lee Ashcroft, Jordan McGhee and Adam Legzdins to come back and that will help.

“But we need it from everyone. Some people find that naturally and others have to work at it.

“We spoke about it at length, you might not be playing your best game but you can still organise and help your team-mates.”

Spirits dented

Despite seeing the team’s winning run grind to a halt on day one of the Championship season after a flawless Premier Sports Cup campaign, Bowyer doesn’t expect anything from Saturday’s defeat to linger in his squad.

And the Dark Blues will be working on tightening up for the trip to Raith Rovers next – at both ends of the park.

“Spirits are obviously a bit dented but there’s nothing more to it than that,” Bowyer added.

“The response in training was positive, which was exactly what I expected to see.

“We debriefed Saturday’s game on Monday and it is put to bed now.

“We lost bad goals and were just not clinical enough.

“There’s plenty to improve on. We have been here six weeks, we’re still building that relationship and there’s still lots to do.

“They want to learn and everything is still very positive.”