Steven Pressley appointment sparks Dundee fan fury

Dundee fans have reacted furiously to the appointment of Steven Pressley as the club's head coach.
Shaun Maloney, Charlie Adam, Temuri Ketsbaia, Scott Brown and David Healy were all linked with the vacancy following the shock sacking of Tony Docherty by Dens chief John Nelms.
But on Monday afternoon, former United, Celtic, Hearts and Scotland defender Pressley was announced as Docherty's replacement.
And supporters immediately voiced their anger on social media.
@DensParkChoir wrote on X: 'Happy to eat my words if I have to.
'F***ing honking appointment from Dundee. F*** off.
'Vastly underwhelming.
'If Pressley was the standout candidate then who, legitimately, was on that shortlist?
'He has my backing and I hope he proves everyone wrong but f*** me this is disappointing.
'Makes sacking Docherty look mental now…This feels like nightmare fuel.'
@Type232 added: 'Just when you think this club has peaked with the banter, they do this.
'A f***ing horrendous decision. Get right in the f***ing bin.'
@grazer 33 said: 'This will be the lowest season ticket sales in history. Not been a manager since 2019 and is the outstanding candidate! Only Dundee.'
The appointment came on the same day the Dark Blues confirmed an extension to the club's Super Early Bird season ticket deal for the 2025/26 campaign to Friday June 6.
@Darkblue63 wrote: 'I want my season ticket money back.'
@soccermarsh1 called it 'the most underwhelming appointment in the history of Dundee Football Club'.
Like several of the names linked with the Dens vacancy, Pressley – nicknamed Elvis – worked with Dark Blues technical director Gordon Strachan during his playing days.
@Liam_DFC said: 'Strachan out.'
@charlie_t_2004 wrote: 'Are season tickets refundable?'
@Caledonia1893 said: 'Is this for real? Has the official account been hacked?'
@CraigMotion3 added: 'Wow, just wow. Thank f*** I held off on season ticket renewal.'
Others took aim at Dundee managing director Nelms.
@SorareOnABudget wrote: 'He has overseen failure after failure.
'If the club genuinely thought this appointment would result in a rush on season tickets, it just shows how f***ing incompetent they really are.'
@jackhayes_ said: 'Get Nelms out. Ruining the club.'
@cassidy_kev wrote: 'Hope all the Tony Docherty haters have a great season.'

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He claims that it was this sense of wanting to see what else was out there rather than an approach from managerless Dundee that lay behind him stepping away from the go-ahead English Premier League club. 'I didn't leave to come here, I genuinely didn't,' he said. One Dundee fan re-posted the announcement Pressley was leaving Brentford on X, adding the comment: 'Don't even think about it, Dundee.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Reader, they thought about it to the extent that they offered Pressley the job to the evident anguish of a huge volume of supporters. Threads on the main Dundee fans' forum might extend to 30 or 40 pages if a particularly contentious game, for example, is being discussed. The one covering Pressley's appointment currently sits at 149 pages – and counting. Little wonder he was so keen to get the contract signed in case managing director John Nelms changed his mind. "I actually signed the contact for this job on the way to the airport," he recalled. Pressley and his wife, June, were setting off for a silver anniversary trip to Vietnam. "As soon as I signed, I discussed it with my wife and said, 'Look we're going to have to cut this short'," he added. It was originally meant to be 18 days. They did 11. "She's been with me for 25 years so she's lived the football life, she understands,' he said. He confirmed that they remain married. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad New Dundee head coach Steven Pressley is unveiled to the media during a press conference at Gardyne Training Centre on Friday. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'I like to remain in my own bubble' Such commitment does not tend to apply to the post of Dundee manager, where it feels like an achievement to reach the equivalent of a cotton anniversary – two years. Tony Docherty, his predecessor, didn't even get to that despite a top six finish in his first season and keeping the team up in his second, despite challenges. A proportion of fans were unhappy, that's true. But that isn't to say they welcomed who the club chose to replace him. While it might have served to further antagonise those Dundee fans already reeling from his recruitment, leaving the country seemed like a wise move for Pressley at the time. He might not have enjoyed reading what was being said about him. 'Honking,' claimed one fan in the local evening newspaper, with the word duly included in the front page headline. The time between the announcement and unveiling while Pressley crammed in sight-seeing visits to the Mekong Delta might actually have proved helpful, since emotions have settled somewhat. He claimed not to have seen any of the initial reaction. 'I have no social media,' he maintained. 'None at all. I never will have. Just because I like to remain in my own little bubble.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He followed this by issuing what some felt was an odd manifesto when managers often go out of the way to ingratiate themselves, especially when they are already portrayed as losing the public relations fight from day one. Pressley explained that he has learned from his Falkirk days. Some might recall him making grand claims, including ensuring fans they would stay up when he was appointed in February 2010 (they didn't). 'Like all management it very much depends on what lens you're looking through,' he said, when the negative reaction of many Dundee fans was put to him. 'If you are a Dundee supporter looking for a manager with a history of producing titles and winning honours then I'm not your man. I am not your guy, I don't profess to be your guy.' It was tempting to reply that no manager since Davie White won the League Cup with Dundee in 1973, two months after Pressley was born, had been "that guy" so it wasn't necessarily a problem. Still, it was a comment that made ears prick up. 'I hope I can demonstrate that moving forward but my career to date doesn't suggest that (I can win honours),' he continued. 'But certainly, from a development perspective and certainly from creating a style of play and the way a team performs, I feel I have demonstrated that over the course.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Steven Pressley is congratulated by Andy McLaren after netting a penalty for Dundee Utd against Rangers at Tannadice in October 1997. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 'I'm a lot calmer, a much smaller ego...' No-one was picketing outside the Dundee training ground, where Pressley handled his first assignment in impressive manner. He looked smart in a Dundee tie and dark blue lightly checked jacket as well as chinos with a contemporary, ankle-showing cut. Now 51, it could be argued that he's a bit old for that now but then maybe it's the result of being among students. He has just finished a degree in strategy and management from the University of Liverpool, which has given him another string to his bow. Among the skills developed while studying was 'self-reflection' and how to be a leader. He didn't have to be the chest-thumping type character, who some might recall from his playing days. Hearts fans certainly do, given it was such theatrics that almost caused a riot when Pressley celebrated a Celtic win on his first return to Tynecastle since leaving to sign for the Parkhead side. 'When I was a player, I was generally a captain,' he said. 'And then I went from that to being a manager almost immediately. Almost, through your title alone, you can make people do things. Then you go into a job (at Brentford) which I was involved in for four years where you don't. You have to build relationships. I do think as a person I've changed a lot. I'm a lot calmer, a lot more controlled, a much smaller ego…' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He remembers wanting to take on the world when he was younger. Now it might be enough to get the better of the lot across the street, where of course he played when he was a younger man and which might account for some of the opposition to his appointment. He finished on the winning side in three out of four Dundee derbies in the second tier in 1995-96, under then Dundee United manager Billy Kirkwood – his head of recruitment at Dundee for the time being.