Mark Ogren insists he shoulders the responsibility for Dundee United’s costly relegation – but reckons the Tangerines are on the fast-track to profitability following some harsh lessons.
The Tangerines crashed into the Championship in 2022/23 despite carrying a staggering wage bill of £6.9 million and boasting a squad including the likes of Steven Fletcher, Aziz Behich and Dylan Levitt.
The Tangerines went over budget during the summer transfer window as they chased the dream of regular European qualification, to the extent that the coffers were empty when reinforcements were badly needed in January.
The club dismissed two managers – Jack Ross and Liam Fox – and there were protests demanding the sacking of sporting director Tony Asghar at several Premiership fixtures, as well as the club’s AGM.
On and off the pitch, the season was a disaster.
‘If you go crazy… you can get hurt’
“From the time I bought the club, everything had been improving season-on-season and, frankly, we got carried away,” reflected Ogren.
“The year we got Europe; we thought we could kick on again – put more money in and do this and that. Who knows where we could go?
“Well, we know where we ended up.
“Some of it was our own doing. Some of it, we were unlucky. I still think, on paper, that was an excellent team but for whatever reason, it didn’t click – and it ended up costing us dearly.
“We learned to be more cognisant about what could happen. You can’t control it all. You sit there and try to work out a budget at the start of the year but, as much as you control, there’s A LOT more that you can’t control.
“Whether you’ll be top six; how good your cup runs will be; matchday revenues; a few of your players could kick on and there’s value there – there are many different factors.
“If you are too conservative, you won’t put enough money into the team to be competitive. If you go too crazy, it can go the other way, and you can get hurt by it.”
Ogren: Blame me
Relegation brought a period of introspection. Over the course of the campaign, Ross and Fox exited. Derek Bond and Sean McGee would leave their roles as finance director and head of recruitment, respectively.
And perhaps most notably, the departure of Asghar was announced on February 28.
But Ogren stated pointedly: “We got carried away and I’m not going to blame anybody else. If I’m going to blame somebody, then it’s me. I let it happen.
“Nothing seemed to be positive that year and we got punished massively on the financial AND football side.”
The accounts for the year ending June 2024 trumpeted an 84% reduction in consultancy fees and an 85% reduction in agent fees. Football department expenses were slashed by £1m.
Asked directly whether he was aware of those spiralling costs in the first place, Ogren replied: “I’m not going to get into what I was aware of, and not aware of.
“But knowing what I know now, it’s disappointing those things were happening.”
Working harder and smarter
While Ogren states firmly “I’d never want to go through any of it again”, he can now reflect on the reset afforded by relegation as a blessing in disguise.
United were able to slash the wage bill by £1.7 million and still win promotion to the Premiership at the first time of asking.
And now with a far tighter control on spending, the club is flying high in third place in the top-flight. Another European adventure could be on the cards – but this time without the overspending and profligacy.
“It (relegation) forced us to look in the mirror and ask what we needed to change,” continued Ogren.
“I wish we had it to do all over again because I am seeing how things can be done in a different way, on a smaller budget; just work a little harder and smarter.”
United ‘very, very close’ to making money
Ogren has invested around £13 million since taking ownership of United in December 2018, albeit the debt owed to the American businessmen was reduced to £6.6 million following a share issue last year.
His tenure has encapsulated two promotions, relegation, European qualification and the financial crisis brought about by Covid. The most recent set of accounts showed a £2.8 million loss (£2.3 million operation loss).
But Ogren believes United are finally on the cusp of being profitable, with turnover expected to return to more than £8 million for the year ending June 2025.
“Would I have got a better return by investing in something else rather than coming to Scottish football? That’s definite,” he continued. “But it was the combination of getting a return on investment and having some fun and enjoying it.
“There have been ups and downs, of course.
“Some people told me, “You don’t understand; you’re ignorant – you’re never going to make money”. And over time, we lost a tremendous amount of money; I had no idea we would lose so much money.
“But I can tell you that this club can make money, and we are on a trajectory very, very soon to make money. There’s no telling where this club can go. But we’ve got to be smart. We can’t get carried away again.
“The wild card is player transfers. That’s the difference maker. If you can develop some players to become assets that can be a game changer.”
Conversation