| Smith replaces Paul Ritchie, who left the club last night, and, as well as his coaching duties, from January, at his own request, his name will be added the player pool.
It is a coach, though, that Jocky wanted his former captain and, in the wake of the arrival of Ray Farningham as assistant manager, he was delighted to get another man with such strong Dens connections on board.
“I said when I came back last week I want a team around me who were Dundee people and, like ‘Jinky’, Barry fits that bill,” said Jocky.
“People thought it would be one or other of them who came in, but I have been able to make room for both and I am happy about that.
“Barry is available as a player from January and has asked to be registered. That suits me and, while I’ll have to assess his fitness before I decide if I’ll play him, even if it is just for situations like last Saturday, when we were short of bodies, he will be good to have.”
Smith was back at Dens today and will be in again later in the week, but, having already committed himself to a three-week working holiday in Australia from this weekend, will not take up his full-time duties until next month.
With community coach John Holt being given a bigger role and Gordon Wallace still overseeing the youth set-up, there will be plenty cover until then.
As seen last Saturday, when he looked on from the stand, veteran coach Wallace will also have a major role to play on match days.
“Gordon will be up there every week to get an overview of what’s going on. I prefer being in the dugout, but you do get a better view from the stand and I’ll use his experience there,” explained Jocky.
On the injury front, striker Bryan Deasley should recover from the knock he took against Airdrie in a couple of days, while full-back Eric Paton is expected to return for Saturday’s visit to Dunfermline. |
