DUNDEE managing director John Nelms insists Neil McCann was always his first choice for the Dens Park manager’s job.

 

The Dark Blues sprang a surprise on Thursday by announcing the Sky Sports pundit was taking charge full-time – just three days after saying he would not be making his role as interim boss permanent.

In the meantime, though, Nelms saw an attempt to speak to St Mirren boss Jack Ross about the role rebuffed by his Paisley employers.

But now Nelms has attempted to play down suggestions Ross was his main target as he insisted McCann – who led the club away from the threat of relegation after replacing Paul Hartley with five games of last season remaining – was always his number-one choice for the job.

Asked to clarify events that followed Monday’s announcement that McCann was leaving, Nelms said: “We were thanking him after he had taken on a position as interim manager. Sky Sports had let him out of his contract for that brief period of time.

“When he left the club at that period of time as interim manager, we were thanking him for that.

“Maybe that was our mistake because we could not roll that into a full-time position. That would have to be a completely separate negotiation.

“So the confusion and the excitement it generated was a kind of created thing which was not nearly as exciting as it sounded.

“But from that point Neil was always our number-one choice. He had the best interview you could possibly have – five games in charge and we saw what he could do. He has also the qualities of a top-class manager.

“From two or three games in, we knew he was the man. We’ve got the number-one candidate – he was the only one ever offered the position.”

It was reported after Saints rejected Nelms’ initial approach that the American had flown to Spain in an attempt to persuade Ross to make the move to Tayside.

If true, that could have put him in danger of breaching SPFL rule D10, which prohibits clubs from tapping up the employees of rival teams.

The Dee chief rejected the claims but did say: “Jack is a fantastic manager and is somebody who would some day probably fit the bill for this club. But there were other candidates – why that one was picked out for comment I don’t know.”

McCann has now turned his back on his lucrative TV deal in order to take on a job where the long-term prospects are far less secure.

But the former Hearts, Rangers and Scotland winger – who started and ended his playing career at Dens – said: “I thought long and hard about it. It was always my intention to return to Sky, as I was contracted to do.

“But the decision to become manager at Dundee was too good to turn down.

“It’s not a gamble. A lot of people say I’m crazy turning my back on Sky. I just see it as a wonderful opportunity.”