NEW Dundee director Calum Melville is ready to invest in the Dens Park club, but has warned fans he won't be opening his cheque-book to make any major signings.
The Aberdeen-based oil tycoon has already made a financial contribution to the club and is prepared to put more money in over the summer, but won't be handing manager Jocky Scott a significant transfer war chest. Melville, who joined the board two w
eeks ago after applying to an advertisement looking for new directors, has been quoted as having a fortune of around £100 million but, while he is wealthy from his involvement in Cosalt Ltd, his personal worth is significantly less.
The 40-year-old agreed to link up with Dundee after talks with chairman Bob Brannan and has been impressed by the way the current board have guided the club since administration five years ago.
Melville plans to continue along the current prudent path set by Brannan and his board so, while Scott will have a modestly-increased transfer budget next season to try and get the club out of the First Division, his plan for the future is to simply maintain the club's stability.
This news will be welcomed by Dundee's long-suffering fans, who were sucked in by the largesse of the Ivano Bonetti era, which peaked when Argentine World Cup star Claudio Caniggia was tempted to Dens Park in 2000 – only for it to end in on-field failure and financial ruin. The supporters have watched their team pay the price ever since.
"I have already put some money into Dundee and will be putting more in in future," Melville revealed.
"But what I do will be in line with the prudent approach the club have taken over the last few years. I certainly won't be doubling the player budget or anything like that.
"Sustainability and stability are the key factors behind Dundee FC. Obviously we want to get the club back into the SPL and will be doing all we can to make that happen.
"But fans should not expect big signings or us to be splashing money about.
"I'm not here to promise them we're going to do this or do that, I'm here to add to what the current board have been doing already.
"After speaking to Bob and the rest of the board, there is a strategy in place to ensure the club's future.
"I'm here to be part of that, offer some financial assistance and also work hard to help the club move forward."
Melville held a meeting with manager Scott before accepting the offer of a place on the board and immediately threw his weight behind the former player.
"I've met with Jocky Scott and am completely behind him. He's a wily old fox and his record since joining the club again is plain for everyone to see.
"He's done an excellent job and is the right man to lead the club forward."
Melville is a self-confessed Aberdeen fan, but insists his home town club's rivalry with Dundee United in the 1980s always drew him towards Dundee when the teams met in derbies. He said: "Dundee are a club I have always been attracted to, they've been my second team.
"That stems from being an Aberdeen fan and having a rivalry with Dundee United – I always used to like seeing Dundee turn them over in the derbies.
"I'm just a huge football fan, a long-suffering supporter of Scotland like the rest of us. When I saw the advert it appealed to me because I am interested in football and feel I have something to offer.
"I met with Bob Brannan and was impressed by what he had to say and by the job he's done to steer the club forward following administration.
"I don't think people realise how much Bob and the rest of the board have done since those days.
"To take a business from administration to where it is now – and it's in a much better state than plenty of other clubs – is a truly phenomenal achievement."
Meanwhile, Dundee have targeted Queen of the South striker Stephen Dobbie to spearhead their attack next season. The former Rangers, Hibs and St Johnstone striker is out of contract in the summer and won't be short of offers, with promotion-chasing Partick Thistle also interested.
Dobbie is also known to be on the radar of clubs in England and will be offered a new deal by Queens so will wait until the end of the season before deciding where his future lies.
Scott plans to ship out several players in the summer so has money for wages at his disposal and views Dobbie as the ideal man to fire Dundee back into the SPL.
The full article contains 807 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
