Dundee bound? Gavin Strachan emerges as favourite for Dens Park job

On the face of it Gavin Strachan being appointed Dundee boss would seem unlikely, after all with the likes of Paul Hartley, Kevin Thomson and Jack Ross all listed with fairly short odds attached with the Bookmakers, Strachan would appear to lack the managerial experience of some of the challengers to take on the task of returning the Dens Park to the Premier League following their relegation under former Celtic Mark McGhee.

Yet when your old man is the Director of Football for the Tayside club, perhaps it’s easy to see why some bookies have Strachan Jnr as short as even money for the job.

If it was to happen this would be quite the turnaround for Strachan, after his first season with the Hoops under Neil Lennon saw him vilified in certain quarters, alongside John Kennedy as Celtic’s season unravelled and scapegoats were made.

Now however, Strachan and Kennedy have been seen as key components of Celtic’s incredible turnaround in fortunes under Ange Postecoglou, so much so that there would be concern of the backroom team supporting Postecoglou being broken up in any way, as the Hoops look to defend their league title next season as well as having Champions’ League Group stage football to consider.

It’s unlikely the Celtic Boss would welcome any approach for Strachan, given how he has publicly lauded the backing his backroom team have offered him, after the Aussie arrived at Celtic without any of his support staff of his own, and appointments since his arrival have certainly been minimal, which would indicate he was more than happy with the skillset he inherited.

Yet you can be certain Postecoglou wouldn’t stand in the way of Strachan having the opportunity to manage in his own right.

19th December 2021; Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland; Scottish League Cup final, Hibernian versus Celtic: Gavin Strachan of Celtic coaching staff hugs Joe Hart of Celtic after his saves help to win the cup

It is indeed a strange sight to see Gavin Strachan installed as a bookie favourite for the Dens Park gig, but perhaps it’s just a case of putting two and two together and getting five, after all it’s hard to see much patience being offered to Strachan at Dundee if nepotism is viewed as being the reason for the job being offered in the first place – much like it was at Celtic when Strachan was appointed.

This one will be an interesting one to play out, because as much as Ange Postecoglou wouldn’t stand in Gavin Strachan’s career development, you can be sure he’d rather focus on strengthening Celtic’s playing squad rather than deal with situations vacant in his backroom team.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – MAY 06: Ange Postecoglou with the Glen’s manager of the season award at Lennoxtown, on May 06, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Ange Postecoglou was this morning named as the Glen’s Manager of the Year, completing the hat-trick of awards after winning the Football Writers award and the PFA Scotland accolade, and in typical Ange fashion he dedicated this award elsewhere, this time recognising the contribution made by the Celtic support to this season’s success story.

Niall J

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About Author

As a Bellshill Bhoy I was taken to my first Celtic game in the summer of 1987. It was Billy McNeill’s return to Celtic Park as manager and Celtic lost 5-1 to Arsenal . I thought I was a jinx, I think my Grandfather might have thought the same. It was the finest gift anyone ever gave me when he walked me through Parkhead's gates.

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