Stevie Crawford’s balance of peerless man management and crisp coaching will make him a “brilliant” appointment as Dundee United assistant head coach.
That is the assessment of former Tannadice attacker Ryan Dow.
Dow, 31, played 47 times during Crawford’s 28-month spell in charge of Dunfermline Athletic — with the understated Dundonian even named vice-captain of the East End Park outfit during the 2020/21 campaign.
It was one of the most effective periods of Dow’s career, notching 10 goals, 12 assists and helping the Pars reach the promotion playoffs in 2021.
“I played under Stevie for two years at Dunfermline and I honestly can’t speak highly enough of him as a coach, a man manager and just as a person,” Dow tells Courier Sport.
“The best way I can put it is: he cares. That shone through.
“He takes time with every player — not just the older, experienced ones — and makes the whole group feel valued. He deals with people as individuals and always took an interest in you away from football.
“That’s something that stood out. He seemed to care about your life away from football and would make sure you were doing okay. As a player, that helps. You want to play for him.
“Managers don’t have a lot of time to think about anything except from the job at hand — but he juggled everything. Even going through tough spells at Dunfermline, his concern was always for other people and his door was open.
“As an assistant, that role will be a wee bit different. But those qualities will still be there and I’m sure the United players will really warm to Stevie.”
He adds: “I think it’s a brilliant appointment for Dundee United.”
Graft
Dow is adamant Crawford’s people skills were mirrored by his ability on the training pitch.
A highly-regarded coach, Crawford has worked for Falkirk, Hearts, MK Dons and FC Edinburgh, as well as managing East Fife and the Pars.
In his two full seasons in charge of Dunfermline, they finished 5th and 4th — considered somewhat underwhelming at the time, but perhaps afforded a new context given the complete capitulation and relegation that followed his departure.
“The way he presented things and his attention to detail was unbelievable,” continued Dow.
“You would go onto the pitch knowing absolutely everything about your opponents, how they played and what you had to do. From there, it was up to yourself to perform.
“Even the days when it was more tactical — not always the enjoyable stuff — it was always sharp and effective.
“Some managers will have you standing about not doing much on the tactics days which, in the winter, isn’t great! It was never like that with Stevie; you never came off thinking, ‘that was a bit of a rubbish session’.
“You can see why people talk about Stevie being a good coach because that combination of attention to detail, while keeping the sessions enjoyable, is a great balance to have.
“There were loads of videos and information. The one thing I can say 100% is: Dundee United fans will never need to worry about him not working hard enough — he was always grafting.”
Spiral
Dow is acutely aware of the challenge facing Liam Fox and Crawford, having been part of the last United side to spiral to relegation in 2015/16.
However, Dow firmly believes the Tangerines are good enough to haul themselves off the foot of the Premiership.
“United are a massive club and, when it’s going well, it’s really good,” said Dow, who played 111 times for the Terrors.
“But the other side of that is that, when things aren’t going well, you hear about it. There’s a lot of pressure.
“That’s not something to moan about. As a player, that’s what you should want and embrace; the big clubs and the big expectations.”
He added: “Looking at that squad, I think they’ll have more than enough to get out of trouble. If they can get a wee bit of momentum and win a couple of games, it’s a brilliant place — United fans will get right behind the new management team.”
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