Steven pressley set lofty dundee target by dens chief john nelms

FORMER DUNDEE UTD DEFENDER PRESSLEY'S APPOINTMENT AS TONY DOCHERTY'S SUCCESSOR HAS NOT GONE DOWN WELL WITH DEE FANS 16:40, 03 Jun 2025 John Nelms has told Steven Pressley he is

expected to lead Dundee back to top six football. ‘Elvis’ was unveiled as the club’s new head coach earlier this week but it is a move that hasn’t gone down well with large elements of the

Dens Park support. Pressley comes into a new position working with David Longwell and under technical director Gordon Strachan. Dundee managing director Nelms is looking for the new man to

deliver success and the minimum requirement is a top end finish. “It’s always top six,” Nelms insisted. "Top six is what we budget for and is always our goal, we always strive to be in

the top six and always will. “It’s tougher to do when you’re walking the development line, we were one of the youngest teams in the league last year. Article continues below “But that’s

always the goal. Getting into Europe will be a step beyond that and that’s where we believe Dundee should be. In that sixth position or higher in a stable position is where we always think

we should be.” Pressley’s appointment hasn’t gone down well because he is a former Dundee United player and he has a far from convincing managerial CV. The former Celtic player previously

worked with Strachan during his time in charge at Parkhead. But Nelms has urged the fans to get behind the new-look set-up. He stated: “I would say to the fans, continue to get behind the

team because their support is vital. “It’s vital on the day, it brings that extra spark, that advantage that potentially gets us over the line and puts the points in the bag. Our fans are

fantastic and that’s never been questioned.” Nelms has explained that Dundee decided to go for change after they sacked Tony Docherty, just hours after he had kept them in the top-flight.

Player recruitment will not be one of Pressley’s main roles. He will be concentrating on the training and games and the new structure has been brought in to help the club grow and build

their player development model. Nelms claimed that Pressley was the outstanding candidate because he has been a manager and lately in a development role at Brentford. He claimed: “Steven, as

a player, was a captain and a leader. He is a soft-spoken leader. He leads by example. You know when you play for Steven he cares about you, your career and wants to make you better and as

successful as possible. That is what we all want. “Steven through our interview process and we sat for four hours walking through all the different elements of what needs to happen in order

for us to be successful. Steven understood and was saying all the things we wanted to hear. We still need to put it in practice but Gordon and I want the organisation working in a certain

way and Steven ticked all the boxes of what we need to do. “For the last four years at Brentford he has been working with development players and integrated them into the first-team. What it

takes to get players to a Premier League level and how they integrate and the two sets of players work together. Steven comes with that vast knowledge and the understanding of what we need

to do to be successful.” Article continues below Nelms has confirmed the club is in talks with their out-of-contract players and are also closing to bringing in new signings, like Drey

Wright from St Johnstone. Nelms, speaking on Dundee FC’s Youtube channel, confirmed: “The recruitment hasn’t stopped. “We are negotiating with players and we are negotiating with three other

players on top of that.” _TUNE IN TO HOTLINE LIVE EVERY SUNDAY TO THURSDAY AND HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN SCOTTISH FOOTBALL AND LISTEN TO RECORD SPORT'S NEWEST PODCAST,

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