Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

JIM SPENCE: Have Dundee and John Nelms been outmanoeuvred in furore over Rangers game at Dens?

Dark Blues chief has to take more forceful approach in defending club when it’s under attack - and admit when he’s got things wrong.

Dundee managing director John Nelms. Image: SNS.
Dundee managing director John Nelms. Image: SNS.

Have Dundee been outmanoeuvred in the furore over the twice-postponed Rangers game at Dens?

Have they fallen foul of more than just a waterlogged pitch?

Cynics might ask if the Dark Blues are caught up in politics which may have, inadvertently, given Rangers the best possible chance of winning the Premiership title.

After all, when it comes to influence and power in the corridors of power at Hampden, the Dark Blues will undoubtedly wield far less than the Light Blues.

First midweek mystery

There’s no denying the Dens pitch is a disaster area.

But as The Courier’s Marc Deanie and Craig Cairns posited, why after the initial Sunday March 17 match was postponed wasn’t the rearranged game set for Wednesday April 3, the first available midweek date in the Premiership calendar after the international break?

Three days after the first postponement, the SPFL announced the game was re-scheduled for a week later on Wednesday April 10.

Courier Sport reported: “A key SPFL leadership figure recommended the postponed fixture be played at the first available midweek date, April 3, in keeping with this individual’s default approach to such situations.

Dens ground staff relay pitch covers on Wednesday afternoon. Image: Ewan Bootman/SNS

“However, at the request of one of the two clubs involved, the issue was escalated to SPFL board level where it was then decided the game would take place on Wednesday April 10.”

With Rangers battling for the title with Celtic, an April 3 game at Dens offered a tough away trip just days before their Old Firm clash at Ibrox.

Fortuitously, though, that was avoided, giving them extra rest time.

Questions aside over whether the Dens pitch would’ve been fit for that match, the rearranged date gave Gers the best possible chance of being fresh for the Celtic game.

All that said, Dundee must tackle the pitch situation as soon as the season ends.

‘Absence of authority’

Club secretary Eric Drysdale, in a Sky Sports interview, cited “climate change” as he was quizzed about the five postponed matches at Dens this season.

Now unless Judith the weather at BBC Scotland can point to the existence of a micro climate in Tannadice Street which renders Dens Park a monsoon flood plain, while 100 yards down the road Tannadice enjoys Mediterranean conditions, Dundee would be better avoiding meteorological speculation.

They should simply take justified criticism on the chin.

However, the club secretary isn’t the man to put up for such interviews; that should have fallen to John Nelms the managing director.

Referee Don Robertson inspects the Dens Park surface. Image: SNS.

He’s the man with day-to-day control and oversight of all off field matters at Dens Park.

John has to take a more forceful approach in defending the club when it’s under attack and he also has to admit when he’s got things wrong.

His approach to standing up for the Dens side and its fans has to be more robust. He has to fight their corner harder.

Going AWOL at crucial times – such as in the aftermath of the call-off – displays an absence of authority.

A constant criticism from Dark Blues fans I know is the lack of communication from the managing director and that is a major PR gaffe.

He needs to communicate much more openly with Dundee supporters because without them there is no club.

Stadium caution

Ahead of their desired move to Camperdown I understand the reluctance to sink any more money into Dens Park.

But the new stadium proposal still faces hurdles, planning and otherwise, before it’s anywhere near a certainty.

In the here and now, failing to invest in the pitch has caused the club deep embarrassment with a hefty fine from the SPFL probably on the way.

3D image of new Dundee FC stadium. Image: Dundee FC
How entrance to Dundee’s new stadium at Camperdown could look.

At a time when they’ve put a very entertaining team on the pitch playing enjoyable football, Dundee should simply tell fans they plan to rip it up and start again.

One national newspaper suggested that Dundee should be thrown out of the Premiership if they can’t provide a top pitch for the top competition.

That’s a ludicrous over reaction.

But until they tackle the issue as Motherwell and St Johnstone had to previously with their tattie field pitches, those kind of criticisms will only grow louder.

Conversation