Dundee boss Gary Bowyer opens up on ‘tough’ times away from family amid Blackpool link

Dundee manager Gary Bowyer concedes being away from his young family has been tough.

The 51-year-old, who led the Dark Blues to the Championship title on Friday night, moved up to Scotland by himself when he took the reins at Dens Park last June.

Bowyer’s two-year son Leo remained south of the border, while the former Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford and Salford boss has also not been able to see granddaughter Matilda regularly.

And Bowyer, who has been installed by bookmakers as odds-on favourite for the vacant Blackpool post, admits being so far away from his family has been difficult.

Speaking to BBC Sportsound on Saturday, Bowyer said: “It was a family choice, I was out of work, wrongly in my opinion from Salford.

“That’s football and this opportunity came along. I knew about the area because I brought Blackpool up there three years running. I loved coming up here.

“Listen, I’ve got a young, little lad, he’ll be three in July and a young granddaughter, she’ll be four in July, Matilda.

“Being away from those two more than anybody else really has been tough.

“They are the choices we make in life and you have to get on with it. Friday night was special for them, the whole family and I’m really proud.”

Bowyer, meanwhile, believes Dundee need to look at St Mirren for inspiration in their bid to become top-flight mainstays.

The Buddies, who returned to the Premiership in 2018, are playing top six football for the first time in their history.

Bowyer added: “We’ve got to use St Mirren as our inspiration and say, ‘they can break into that top six’, and we have to take them as an example and get there.

“That’s the challenge, the club have to be in the position that they stop being a yo-yo club, that requires a helluva lot of work on and off the pitch.

“I’m not stupid, I’m aware of the salaries being paid below the top five in the Scottish Premiership and you look at the teams competing.

“You realise how competitive it is, it will be a massive, massive summer but if we’re serious about it we have to invest to stop being a yo-yo club.”