Dundee are on the lookout for their 35th manager in the club’s 130-year history.
Gary Bowyer won the Championship, earned promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking and picked up the Manager of the Season award.
The job he was brought in to do was done and thoughts had already moved on to next season.
However…
Less than an hour after Bowyer was pictured holding his managerial award, news broke of his departure.
Rumours to that effect had been doing the rounds as the season came to a close and speculation ramped up in recent days after a link to Blackpool emerged.
Talk on BBC Radio Scotland of missing his young family down south fuelled the idea Bowyer was looking to move on.
However, Courier Sport understands the decision to part company was entirely Dundee’s.
A decision to dispense with a title winner and manager of the season just days after his successes were sealed.
Even in the wild history of this crazy club, this is peak Dundee.
So what happened?
The majority of the playing squad were called into the club’s training centre at Gardyne Campus on Wednesday for a debrief of the season.
The expectation was that it would be led by Bowyer. He had already spoken on Monday to a handful of players who were heading off on holiday earlier than the rest.
Bowyer was there on Wednesday morning, only to be handed a letter by Nelms informing him he would be leaving the club.
The club then posted Bowyer’s Manager of the Season award on their website.
The players were addressed by captain Ryan Sweeney and goalkeeper Adam Legzdins to say the manager had left.
Bowyer’s only interaction with the players was a quick ‘good luck’ before making his exit.
It’s understood technical director Gordon Strachan also spoke to the group and said the aim was for a swift appointment of a new manager.
The club then announced Bowyer’s departure to their supporters.
What’s the background between Gary Bowyer and Dundee chiefs?
The key part of the club’s statement thanking Bowyer for all his hard work was the first line from managing director John Nelms.
“Given the importance of the weeks and months ahead, I felt it was necessary to ensure we are all aligned on the direction needed to ensure the club is ready for its return to the Premiership,” he wrote.
That could be read as an admission the pair found agreement difficult to come by.
Courier Sport understands the relationship between Bowyer and Nelms had deteriorated to the extent they no longer spoke and hadn’t for some time.
It’s further understood Nelms spoke at the civic reception for the team on Sunday and thanked every member of staff for their efforts, congratulating them for the league win, without mentioning the manager.
Early fall-outs over the quality of the training pitches at Gardyne Campus got things off to a rocky start, with Nelms unhappy the club were spending money to train at the Regional Performance Centre at Caird Park.
And a perceived lack of flexibility on the transfer front has been an ongoing problem.
Across his time at Dens Park, Bowyer made just one long-term, permanent signing, in Tyler French on a two-year deal.
Derick Osei and Pierre Reedy were short-term captures and the rest of the arrivals were loans.
In praising his players after their title win last Friday, Bowyer was quick to point to a lack of transfer activity.
He said: “The majority were relegated last season and had to change mindset, we’ve only signed one permanent player. But the way they reacted was unbelievable.”
Player contracts
Player contracts, too, have been a sticking point.
Plans for a new season would normally start well ahead of the end of the current one.
But this time around, no contract talks with players were being held, no budgets for the next season were talked about.
Meanwhile, 25 senior players are out of contract, with only three in possession of deals beyond this summer.
Criticism
There has also been criticism of the manner of Dundee’s promotion challenge. After an up-and-down start, the Dark Blues found their groove in the winter but then stumbled in the New Year.
The view from the outside was that the quality of the Dark Blues squad should have seen them dominating the Championship, wrapping up the title with games to spare.
But a run of draws – four in five ahead of the title-decider at Queen’s Park – had seen Dundee miss the opportunity to seal the title early.
They eventually got over the line in spectacular fashion, winning 5-3 at Ochilview to win the league by five points.
It appears the view from the Dens Park boardroom was a similar one; of a team falling short of expectations before coming good at the final, crucial moment.
Busy summer
In Wednesday’s statement, club chief Nelms wished Bowyer ‘the best for the future’ and thanked him for his work.
But on Friday night, after seeing his team lift the Championship trophy, Nelms was reluctant to even mention his title-winning manager by name when asked who would be in the dugout next season.
Asked for a second time whether that would be Bowyer, Nelms said: “Let’s enjoy the win and then look at everybody and see where we are going.”
They are now going to the Premiership without the man who took them there.
A busy summer lies ahead.
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