Gary Bowyer has revealed Dundee had a number of deals ready to be completed on Wednesday, only for them to fall through on transfer deadline day.
The last chance to bring in players from other clubs or on loan from England passed without an in or an out at Dens Park.
Four signings have arrived since Bowyer took over at the start of the summer with Tyler French the only permanent transfer.
Joe Grayson, Ben Williamson and Zach Robinson have all arrived on loan deals.
‘Gazumped’
Through his clear frustration, the Dark Blues boss described his deadline day: “I probably should have known what day lay ahead when I couldn’t get out of my apartment in the morning.
“The front door to the building was locked and someone had to let me out.
“I should’ve just turned round and went back inside.
“It was very frustrating.
“Going into the day we were led to believe we had two, maybe three deals done only to be gazumped by other clubs.
“They weren’t in the equation the day before but the madness of the window saw those clubs come in.
“You lose out to a variety of reasons – geography, money, status in terms of the level.
“I can look at myself and understand that and we did everything we could possibly do.
“It came down to the decision of the player.
Not happening. That's it.
Loans from Scottish clubs and free agents can still come in but Dundee's deadline day is over without an in or out https://t.co/rgvyaLIi9r
— George Cran (@di_cranio) September 1, 2022
“That’s how it is. We were still here gone midnight.
“Now we have a month where we can get loans, I’ve never had that cushion as a manager.
“And obviously free agents – if the right one comes along we’ll look at that.”
Fan fury
The reaction of fans was one of huge disappointment after the expectation of adding new faces.
Bowyer accepts that and shares the pain of the fanbase.
He would like a bigger squad to work with but there are no new options to face Queen’s Park on Saturday.
“I know fans get frustrated that there are no signings but I share their frustration. We are all frustrated,” he added.
“When you put the amount of work in that we did and then it breaks down, that frustration only increases.
“We certainly feel we do need to add to the squad. We’ve only got four players in who you would say are mine.
“It’s a case of looking in the loan market or free agents but with the squad we have, we have to get them organised and be competitive, show passion and fight for the shirt.
“The players we were bringing in were to add to the squad.
“We had a couple who were injured on Tuesday and you could see how small the squad is in terms of numbers.
“We go with what we’ve got now.”
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