Dundee FC Q&A with Barry Smith and Scott Gardiner - Part 1

Last updated : 16 March 2012 By Shaded

 

Dundee FC Q&A, 28

th February

 

On Tuesday 28th February, a question and answer session was held in the Andy Penman Lounge at Dens Park, with the Team Manager Barry Smith, new CEO Scot Gardiner and the

Board of Directors of Dundee Football Club. The meeting was opened by the CEO, and he

advised the Dundee fans in attendance that the session would start with questions directed at

Barry Smith, as the manager had somewhere to be later in the evening. The following is an

account of the questions asked, and the answers given.

The first question regarded continuity in the side over the next few years, and what the manager hoped for.

'I think it's quite difficult to answer that at the moment, obviously we would like the scenario that we get promoted in which case, the scenario is that we would like to keep all the players

that are here. But if we come down to next season and the budgets are still to be agreed, then

that will be a decision for myself, whether to keep the majority of the players on, or we have

to change some things, and that will be decided later on.'

Have any players in lower leagues, maybe part time players stood out for you? Steven Dorris and Martin Boyle spring to mind.

'I try to get to as many lower league games as possible, hence the reason I am leaving early tonight, but there are some gems to be found there, and it's just a matter of picking the right

ones, ones you think are able to do a job in this division. It is difficult to judge at certain

levels, but there definitely are a few players, and you have mentioned a couple, that are

looked at, regularly, but again, it's on your own judgement, well my judgement, as to whether

they are going to make it to the next level.'

With the club increasingly leaning towards youth, could you explain to me, I am involved in

Sunday Boys football, what exactly is the clubs procedure if you spot a player you fancy?

'Initially, we have just started having scouts go out to games again, now, if they see someone that they think could play in our youth team, then the idea would be that they would go to the

manager of that team, and they would not approach the parents whatsoever. That's

something I don't agree with, so they approach the manager of the Sunday Boys team first

and foremost, to see whether he agrees, which I don't think would be a problem, because I

think all Sunday boys team managers would like their players to progress. Once that's

happened, we talk about them coming in to training with our boys. It might not be that they

get signed, but they come in to train, get looked after, and then, I we feel that they are not

good enough, then it's ok for them to go back into their Sunday boys team.'

'But I think there was a breakdown in communication between Dundee Football Club and the local boys teams, and I am trying to get a healthier situation for the club in terms o speaking

to the local teams, and maybe having an agreement with them, especially at the younger

ages, because it is important that we do help each other in that sense. I don't think a scout

has to be speaking to anybody except the manager; I would hope that no Dundee scout would

approach a player or his parents, but I don't think they have to notify themselves to team

managers, if they are going to look at a player to come into Dundee, then yeah, speak to the

manager and say this is the case, and this is the scenario, hopefully the team manager agrees

with that, but I know for a fact there is Celtic scouts, there is Rangers scouts in this area, at

the moment we sometimes become third or fourth choice, which is disappointing from our

point of view, but young kids get lured by the Celtic and the Rangers, and that's something

that we would hope to rectify, but in no shape or form will the scout be approaching the

parents or the player before the manager.'