Jim Goodwin is adamant he will lead Dundee United as a manager, not as a head coach.
Structural changes are afoot at Tannadice as the club prepare for life in the Championship following the Irishman’s appointment as Liam Fox’s successor. One element is Goodwin having ‘final say’ on all key football decisions, having received firm assurances none will be taken without his approval.
He did stress, however, that the alterations he has agreed with the United board are not a reflection on previous regimes, accepting that he too must take his share of blame for how a painful relegation from the Premiership came to pass.
“I think the structure of the club going forward will be different,” said Goodwin. “I am not going to criticise anybody from a manager’s perspective or director of football perspective who has been here in the past because some of those people were involved in bringing the club from the Championship into the Premiership, some of them were involved in taking the club into Europe.
“So I am not going to point the finger of blame at anybody for last season. I played my part in that as well coming in at the latter stages of the season.
“I didn't fulfil what my objective was but I am coming in as manager, I am not coming in as head coach. I have been given the autonomy to make key decisions where I think improvements need to be made.
“I had a similar situation at St Mirren and Aberdeen where I think it is only right that the manager has got the final say on what happens within the football department. There will always be conversations and discussions going on with myself and the chief executive and with the owner.
“They will have their input as well but I have been given assurances that any major decision that is being made is one that I have to be fully comfortable with.”
The immediate and crucial aim is winning promotion back to the top-flight. But Goodwin revealed the changes being implemented are not solely focused on achieving short-term goals.
He believes it is crucial United learn from the mistakes that culminated in last season’s horror show and a second stint in the Championship within seven years. That involves making long-term improvements that Goodwin hopes will see the club benefit even long after he has departed his role.
“Whenever the time comes to leave Dundee United, whether that’s two, three, five years down the road, I want to make sure I have done my best to make changes behind the scenes,” the manager said. “As a football club we want to continuously try to make things better. Yes, there were a lot of mistakes made last season particularly on the pitch which as a club we have been very honest about.
“The chairman has spoken, the chief executive has spoken, nobody is trying to brush anything under the carpet.
“The most important thing for us now is that we learn from the mistakes we made last season and make sure they don't happen again going forward.
“But I want to try and improve the whole structure of the football department in particular, to make sure everything is seamless and there is more collaboration and a lot more communication between all the different departments.
“Just so that everything is aligned from the youth academy up to the first team and up the stairs into the boardroom so that we are all on the same page. That’s the only way the club can be productive going forward.”
