The prospect of having ‘living legend’ Gordon Strachan in his corner made taking the Dundee manager’s job an easy decision for Tony Docherty.
‘Doc’ succeeded Gary Bowyer as Dark Blues boss on Monday and will lead his side into the Premiership next season.
With over 700 games as assistant manager to Derek McInnes under his belt, Docherty is no stranger to the requirements of the dugout.
Nevertheless, as a first time boss, he will not shy away from accepting support – and the Dundee gaffer feels having Gordon Strachan on hand at Dundee is as good as it gets.
“The lure of working with Gordon Strachan really appeals to me,” he said.
“I worked with Gordon Strachan in the national set up and I loved every minute and every second of it.
“When I see his passion for the job and what he wants to do here it aligns with my philosophy and my views and my vision.
“And when I hear John (Nelms, Dundee managing director) outline his view for the club it’s in tandem with what I want to do.
“There seems a real alignment and my role as manager is to make sure there is alignment through the club.”
On Strachan, he added: “Who wouldn’t want that relationship with Gordon Strachan? Did you watch the Gothenburg documentary? That encapsulates everything.
“I wouldn’t want to embarrass him but Gordon Strachan is an absolute living legend of the game.
“With all his experiences, who wouldn’t want to tap into that?
“And I have experienced it because I have worked with him. I know Gordon Strachan, I’ve worked with him and I want to tap into everything.
“I got that opportunity to do that with Scotland but that was a temporary thing. But now I’ve got the opportunity to work with him again and that’s a huge factor.
“I’ve kept in regular contact with Gordon since those Scotland days and I’ve played a little bit of golf with him and had cups of teas and coffees with him.
“His vision and philosophy for this club excites me. And to have someone of that quality and with his contacts and his standing in the game standing shoulder to shoulder, you want someone like that with you in your first gig.”
Job number one for Docherty is recruitment.
With just four contracted players, a huge amount of work is required to scout and sign an entire squad.
But rather than be daunted, the new Dundee boss is relishing the chance to shape a team exactly the way he wants.
He explained: “You almost have a blank canvas and that’s a great situation because it’s your call on what you bring in and what you want to bring in.
“There’s nothing worse, we had it at Bristol City, where you inherit the previous three managers’ players.
“That’s difficult because you are not in control of something, but here there is that control straight away.
“So when you have that control plus the alignment between John, Gordon and myself that’s what excites me.
“Is it daunting to only have four signed players? No, there’s plenty of time to get things done.
“Work has been going on anyway, it has already been happening. There have also been talks with the players who are out of contract.
“For me, it’s about getting the right type to build a culture and reflect me.
“To do that you have to have the young, hungry ones like you have here but you also need the good experienced pros to drive it along.
“I want the fans who come along to know what they’re going to be watching – a team playing with energy and giving everything for the blue jersey.”
As far as the fans are concerned, Docherty was at pains to point out they are getting a manager who fully understands the culture around the club.
Despite working elsewhere in Scotland, the 52-year-old has lived in Dundee for almost two decades.
As a result, he knows supporters concerns – and the potential having such an active fan base offers.
“I know what the Dundee fans want to see, I speak to Dundee supporters every day because I live here,” Docherty said.
“There is a definite appeal because of that. I know the pulse of this city because I’ve been here for 18 years.
“My kids were born and brought up here, they’re Dundonians.
“When you live somewhere you know what the place is about, what the fans are about.
“A lot of people arrive here and think ‘this is a big club’ but I know that already.
“I want stability for this club and that will come from the alignment between the owner all the way down.”
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