'Jack Ross is on different level': Dundee United chief purrs over manager he has admired for long time

Tony Asghar believes Dundee United have struck gold with Jack Ross because they are getting a “different level” manager to what they have had in the past at just the right time.

The Tannadice club should be expert in the art of managerial recruitment.

They’ve had to investigate options in each of the last two summers and it will be a surprise if Asghar hasn’t already got a folder marked “Next manager” saved on his office desktop.

Except this time, the sporting director hopes things will be different. This time he expects to hit it off with his latest appointment, who he introduced to reporters at a press conference in St Andrews on Wednesday. Asghar is confident there will be no need to re-consult a list he revealed Ross has always topped.

They even got as far as talking but it was never the right time. Ross was always in a job. United plumped for Micky Mellon two summers ago and then recruited from within last year, when Tam Courts stepped up from his role as head of tactical performance.

Both Mellon and Courts were more than decent appointments, with Courts in particular leading United to a recent high of fourth spot and back into Europe after an absence of ten years. But Asghar contends that the United manager’s seat was always being kept warm for Ross.

It just so happened that fates finally conspired to let him finally sit in it this summer.

Not only was Ross available having turned down an approach from Dundee, but United were also on the lookout for a new manager after Courts left to pursue other options. He has recently been appointed manager of Honved in Budapest.

“Jack has always been an outstanding candidate for me personally, ever since I came into this job,” said Asghar. “He knows that and I know that. We’ve