The Scotsman Football Show

The Scotsman

Mark Atkinson and Alan Pattullo discuss the Premier Sports Cup and Steven Pressley interview.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to this episode of the Scotsman Football Show. My name is Mark Atkinson,

00:08Sports Editor. I'm joined today by our Chief Football Writer, Alan Patullo. Alan, we're going

00:13to have a very quick chat about the commencement of the Scottish Football Season. Premier Sports

00:19Cup is back, which means that we have competitive football returning to our stadia and screens

00:25once more. A couple of big matches. Let's start with probably the time that jumps out the

00:30most in the group stages. Hearts against Dunfermline on Saturday evening at Tynecastle, where you'll

00:36be watching Derek McInnes take on Neil Lennon. Yeah, it's fascinating. I mean, some people

00:45might think that the return of the competitive football season is slightly too early. Wimbledon

00:55ongoing and cricket test match ongoing down south probably feels a bit too early, but

01:01I think they've managed to produce a fixture to get the juices stirred. Derek McInnes' first

01:10competitive game in charge of Hearts against his old friend Neil Lennon, obviously now in

01:16charge of Dunfermline. So, yeah, I'm actually looking forward to being there at Tynecastle.

01:23It's a fascinating match-up between the two managers. I was looking the other day, I think

01:28Neil Lennon might be the elder of the two by about a week, I think, so they're the same age. But Derek

01:35McInnes proved that by taking what some perceived as a backward step, going back into the championship

01:42to take over at Kilmarnock, has not had any real detriment to his managerial career. I mean,

01:49here he is now, manager of Hearts, looking like he's continuing to fulfill his managerial

01:56ambitions in one of the big clubs in Scotland. And I think Neil Lennon can look to Derek McInnes'

02:03what he's done and think that perhaps, you know, at age 53, 54, that, you know, there's

02:12still, there's still life, life in him yet. And I'm sure there is. Derek McInnes was being

02:18very, being very, well, commending Neil Lennon for his managerial, his managerial talent on

02:26Wednesday when we met McInnes Orium for the pre-match briefing and said he was looking forward

02:33to locking horns with him again. So yeah, it's another sort of a side issue to the game. I'll

02:43be, I'll be watching them on the sidelines as well as watching Hearts take on Dunferm and

02:49you know, possibly much changed Hearts team against a Dunferm and team who are obviously

02:57bidding to make a good start to the season ahead of what they will hope will be a season

03:03where they can return, make a return to the top flight.

03:06Yeah, both teams have got big aspirations this season in different leagues and I think

03:10a lot of fans will be fascinated to see what changes have occurred at both Tyne Castle

03:15in East End Park. They're not the only, or McInnes certainly isn't the only new manager

03:20getting his first competitive game. In fact, there's four players in the manager of the

03:25team. And we also have Stephen Presley back in short of football and I want to talk a bit

03:26about him Alan before we sign off. One day you take on Aertrie, Presley the manager at

03:31the East End Park. And we also have Stephen Presley back in short of football and I want to

03:36talk a bit about him Alan before we sign off. One day you take on Aertrie, Presley the manager

03:44at the East End Park. He's going to be a big in for you this week. Controversial appointment

03:50at the time. It feels like that may have died down a little bit. Is there excitement

03:55among the East End Park faithful about Presley being in? And also, how was Presley to speak

04:01to you? He's been away from the glare of the Scottish media for some time.

04:05Yeah, no, it was great. It was my annual sit down with the new Dundee manager. I think

04:11that's the third time in the last four seasons that I've done that going back to Gary Boyer,

04:18head of his first season in charge. Then when that ended after his reign ended after that

04:24one season, I remember sitting down with Tony Doherty two years ago. And of course that only

04:29lasted a couple of seasons and now here we are with yet another new incumbent of that dense

04:35park hot seat, which as we know is a particularly hot, hot seat. But yeah, Stephen Presley was

04:44certainly, I mean, there's no point pretending otherwise he was a controversial appointment.

04:50A lot of Dundee fans were up in arms on social media about it when it was confirmed over five

04:56weeks ago now. But you're right, I think there has been a time, you know, there's the passage

05:01of time that's allowed people to digest it. And, you know, he's made some interesting looking

05:07signings so far. And I think there's got to be some realism as well. Dundee have lost some,

05:13you know, some particularly good players since this time last year, obviously Lyle Cameron and

05:17Luke McCowan. And I think that's an area of real concern for Dundee in the middle of the park,

05:23who's going to be that playmaker, who's going to support Simon Murray in terms of goals,

05:29the way Lyle Cameron did. But no, I think people have begun to get their head round

05:37Steven Presley as a manager. And I'm looking forward to seeing him in the dugout for the

05:44first time. I mean, the first time he's been in a dugout as a manager for a competitive match

05:49since before COVID when he was in charge of Carlisle. It's a long, long time and a long,

05:54long time since he was last involved in Scottish football. So it's very much going to be a case

05:58of him sort of coming out into the glare of the media spotlight. And yeah, I spent a couple

06:07of, you know, a very pleasant couple of hours yesterday with him in a Dundee City hotel.

06:12It was a day off for Dundee players and for the management. He said he was very,

06:17he was very sure to take himself away from the, it had been such an intense period,

06:22he was very sure to take himself away from the football operations and just have a day to himself.

06:27So it was nice to catch up with him in that kind of relaxed manner. And he was about to go

06:32and get his hair cut. He said, so he's getting himself ready for the big kickoff. Like we all

06:38are, you know, getting our things sorted out, getting our notepads looked out. And yeah,

06:44here we go. So I'm looking forward to seeing what Steven Presley has to offer. And yeah, he was great.

06:54He went into a lot of detail in his career, covered a lot of ground. And it got me thinking,

07:00you know, just how, how much Steven Presley has been involved in some of the most iconic

07:06and memorable moments of Scottish football in the last 25, 30 years. I mean, we talk about

07:13Boozgate. He was, he was a part of that, not, not, not, not one of the, not one of the miscreants,

07:19but one of the, the coaching team who had to, had to deal with the fallout. And he was, of course,

07:28front and centre of the Rickerton three protest at heart. And so we cover that kind of ground.

07:35And, and yeah, and also just going back to his days as a very young player at Rangers and the death of

07:41the death of his very sad death of his father when he was just 20, when Steven was just 20 years old,

07:45his father was only 47 and how he had to come back from that as a, as a young player at Rangers.

07:50And, you know, I think we have to take a hat off to Steven Presley and for what he did as a player.

07:55And, you know, the ways he's really trying to sort of, I don't know, come back as a manager,

08:05come back and he said he's learned a lot being, being at Brentford, being, being part of the,

08:12the coaching staff at Brentford and being away from that kind of frontline management role.

08:17And he said, he's learned a lot about himself too. So, um, uh, got a smaller ego, he says,

08:22and he's coming back and he's just, uh, he said, he feels more comfortable within his own skin now.

08:27And, uh, yeah, it was, it was a really, really interesting couple of hours.

08:31And, uh, and I hope that comes across in the piece, uh, it's going to be on in the Scots.

08:35It certainly does. I think people will read that and see Presley in a slightly different light.

08:41Um, I suppose ultimately like all football managers, the, the real proof will be in the pudding.

08:46And, um, as you alluded to, Dundee have lost a number of very good players over the past 12 months,

08:52even actually over the past few months.

08:54So, um, he's got, he's got a tricky job on his hands in ultra competitive Scottish Premiership.

08:59Uh, Alan, I'm going to let you crack on because it's warm out there and it's, it's time to, time to go and enjoy some sunshine.

09:05Um, make sure you remember that suntan lotion and sunglasses for Tyne Castle.

09:10The, uh, the press box from hell when it's really hot with those perspex screens.

09:15We'll have all the action from the premier sports cup.

09:17Alan, as we say, we'll be at hearts against them from tomorrow night.

09:20And, uh, we'll round up all the best of the action and what is in our busy weekend of Scottish football.

09:26From myself, Mark Hackinson, and from Alan, it's goodbye tonight.

09:29I'll say goodbye tonight.

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