Shaun Maloney is the frontrunner to become the new Dundee manager following the sacking of Tony Docherty, and Herald Sport understands that the former Celtic attacker is interested in the position.
Maloney, who previously had a four-month spell in charge of Hibs, has been waiting for the right opportunity since losing his job as manager of Wigan Athletic in March.
The 42-year-old is known to be close to his former manager at Celtic and current Dundee technical director Gordon Strachan, and was almost appointed as manager at Dens Park back in 2022 before eventually losing out on the role to Gary Bowyer.
This time around though, it is thought that the club’s hierarchy are keen to land Maloney, and while no talks have yet taken place between the parties, he would welcome the opportunity to discuss the role.
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After an impressive season in his debut campaign as a manager led to a top six finish last term, expectations were high over where Docherty could take his team.
The loss of Luke McCowan to Celtic was a blow, but there had been investment in bringing in players like Simon Murray, and certainly from within the boardroom, few foresaw a season where survival was the main aim, nor that their place in the Premiership would still be a live issue going into the final day.
As it turned out, Dundee’s 2-0 win over already relegated St Johnstone secured their place in the top-flight with a tenth-placed finish.
That was well below where managing director John Nelms and Docherty himself would have set Dundee’s sights, but even still, given his body of work overall at the club, the former Aberdeen and Kilmarnock assistant may well have thought he had earned the right to reset in the summer and go again.
Alas, it will now be a different manager who is tasked with that rebuilding job, and former Scotland internationalist Maloney is strongly fancied to be the man to take on that role.
Maloney, who won 47 caps for Scotland, enjoyed two spells at Celtic as a player and turned out for Aston Villa, Wigan and Hull City in England, while he also had a brief spell in the MLS with Chicago Fire.
Shortly afterwards he held talks with Dundee, but when that feel through, he went on to take the reins at one of his old clubs, Wigan Athletic, where he spent a little over two years in post before being relieved of his duties earlier this year.
