Following the signing of George McLean from Rangers, Jim McLean was used more in a midfield role. He was not always popular with the Dundee supporters; McLean later attributed that to him having had to follow higher-class players such as Cooke and Alan Gilzean into their team. Having played in every game for Dundee during the 1967–68 season, he was then dropped for the first match in 1968–69. Days later he was to be sold for £3,000 to Kilmarnock, where he played alongside his brother Tommy. After making a total of 474 appearances and scoring 170 goals in his career, McLean retired from playing in 1970 and returned to Dundee as a coach in July of that year.