Dundee United might have blown their chances of luring Steven Pressley to Tannadice after announcing that there is no chance of the Scotland International joining the club as a player-coach.
Rangers, Celtic, Southampton, Derby and a host of other big clubs are rumored to be considering a move for the defender, who was released by Hearts at the weekend for making a stand against controversial Chairman Vladimir Romanov, on behalf of his players.
With so much competition for the 33-year-old’s signature, it was expected that Craig Levein would offer Pressley the chance to join the Tannadice backroom staff, since cash-strapped Dundee United couldn’t match the wages offered by some of the other clubs.
Steven Pressley is nearing the end of his playing career and his next move will probably be his last, so he’ll be looking for either a large pay-out or the potential to continue his career in a coaching capacity.
Craig Levein has spoken to Pressley since the weekend, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the ex-Hearts captain will join Dundee United after Levein admitted he doesn’t need any new coaches.
He said, “I have spoken to Steven since he left Hearts and I would be really keen to sign him as a player if possible, but I can’t see us offering him a coaching position.”
“We have a strong backroom staff here already and, anyway, if someone is telling me that they want to be a coach that could mean they see their playing days coming to an end.”
Steven Pressley originally joined Dundee United for a fee of £750,000 in July 1995 – before going on to make 100 league appearances and score 6 times for the club.
He was part of the Dundee United side that went 12 consecutive games unbeaten at Tannadice at the end of the 1996/97 season, which included a 17 match unbeaten in league and cup competition under manager Tommy McLean.
He left on a free to join Hearts in July 1998, because he thought he’d get more European experience playing for the Edinburgh club and has made over 270 league appearances for the Jambos, including several in European competition.
During his time at Tynecastle, the Scottish born defender played under Craig Levein and it was expected that Pressley would jumped at the chance to work alongside his former manager again.
However, with so much competition from other clubs, it’s very unlikely that he would accept a low wage offer from Dundee United with no chance of a coaching role, when he could take a huge payout from either side of the Old Firm or even an English club.
With Celtic, Southampton & Derby among some of the clubs after Pressley, United dont really have much to offer. We cant give him as much money as those other clubs, so surely a coaching position would have been at least something to tempt him to Tannadice?