Dundee chief executive Harry MacLean has defiantly insisted that the Dark Blues have kept strictly within the rules of the game when they have brought in players from junior side Lochee United as trialists.
Barry Smith’s side extended their unbeaten run to 22 games on Tuesday night against Dunfermline courtesy of an equaliser by striker Jake Hyde, who has been training with Dundee for the last few weeks.
But earlier this week, the former Swindon and Barnet player signed a contract with Lochee United until the end of the season.
That meant he was able to switch his registration from the FA to the SFA, a move which also opened the way for him to line up against the Pars as it negated cross-border rules regarding trialists.
Dundee have also used Lochee United midfielder Craig Robertson as a trialist and he came on as a substitute against Dunfermline.
The Dark Blues are the subject of a transfer ban after entering administration in October and it is understood other clubs in the SFL are furious at what has happened.
But MacLean said, “We are 100% within the rules and the SFL agree with that. We are doing nothing wrong.
“It’s quite simple. You can play two trialists in a game and for a maximum of three matches.
“If those players come from the juniors then so be it, there’s nothing in the rules against that.
“Jake is a junior player. I do not know his background entirely but he’s a signed Lochee player and if their manager Paul Ritchie wants to use him then they will.
“He is a signed player in Scotland and we have a letter from his club saying he can play for us as a trialist.
“Jake didn’t have a club and is trying to get his career on track. How he does that is his business.
“As for the other players we have had on trial, we would want to sign them if we could.
“We are looking at the possibility of bringing them in once we come out of administration.
“If we were not in administration, we would love to offer guys like Graham Bayne and Neil McCann contracts.
“We are trying to avoid relegation, so I make no apologies for what we are doing.”