McLean was first team coach at Dundee for 18 months. In November 1971 the club's manager John Prentice announced that he would resign at the end of that year; many outside observers assumed that McLean would become their manager. Instead he became manager of their local rivals Dundee United, where he replaced the retiring Jerry Kerr. McLean immediately started a co-ordinated youth policy which was to produce many fine young players over the two decades which followed; he had personally visited Ralph Milne, John Holt, and Davie Dodds to encourage them to sign for United rather than for Celtic, Aston Villa, and rivals Dundee respectively. In the short term, he used his knowledge of the Scottish scene to buy experienced players who would allow him to re-shape both the squad and the style of play in line with his approach to coaching.