Dundee | Steven Pressley appointed manager of Dundee Football Club

A new era is starting for one of Dundee's football clubs.

Dundee have named Steven Pressley as their new head coach, marking a return to frontline management for the former Falkirk and Coventry City boss.

Author | Peter Grainger 

The 51-year-old, capped 32 times by Scotland, departed Brentford last week after four years as head of individual player development. Announcing his exit, Pressley said he was ready for a “new challenge”.

His arrival comes as part of a wider restructure at Dens Park. David Longwell, who ended the season as caretaker manager of National League side Fylde, joins as technical manager. The former St Mirren assistant will oversee player development.

Dundee hailed Pressley’s “fantastic knowledge and experience of the game”, with managing director John Nelms praising his commitment to player development and what he described as a “rounded approach to winning football”.

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Pressley began his managerial career in 2005 as a caretaker at Hearts, where he was still playing at the time. He later became assistant to George Burley with the national team.

His first full-time managerial role came at Falkirk, where he suffered relegation from the Scottish top flight. He went on to guide Coventry City to safety in League One despite the club entering administration, though was later dismissed following a dip in form. Subsequent spells in charge at Fleetwood Town, Cypriot side Pafos and Carlisle United followed.

Best reaction

Graham, a Dundee fan, is a bit concerned about the appointment but can see a positive future in the long term: "I'm somewhat underwhelmed. The biggest challenge will be building a squad that can compete from the very beginning. David Longwell is also somewhat of an unknown, but he has extensive player development experience. I suspect the management believes that the only way forward for Dundee is to develop our own talent. The issue with this approach is that the top young players often end up at Rangers or Celtic."

Paul was even loss positive, saying: "An absolute embarrassment of an appointment. I was genuinely excited about the prospect of hiring David Healy, a manager with a proven track record of winning trophies. I am very concerned about next season."