Dundee boss Barry Smith signed Jamie McCluskey last night and he goes straight into his squad for today’s Ramsdens Cup game against Arbroath.
The former Hibs and St Mirren player has impressed while on trial with the Dark Blues and Smith believes he can add something different to his team.
“Jamie did well in the two games last weekend and he has shown up well in training,” said Smith. “He is a creative player and at the moment we do not have someone like that in the middle of the park.
“He can play wide and he can also play through the middle so he is versatile.”
McCluskey will travel to Arbroath with new skipper Rhys Weston’s warning ringing in his ears that Dundee face a potential banana skin at Gayfield.
On paper, the Dark Blues will be firm favourites to sail through against Paul Sheerin’s second division outfit, but Welshman Weston insists they cannot take anything for granted.
“I have never been to Arbroath before, but one thing I know for sure is that they’re going to be right up for it,” he said. “It will be a tough game to open the new season and basically we are on a hiding to nothing.
“They will see us a big scalp ready for the taking so we have to be on our guard from the word go. We’ll show them every respect and we will not take Arbroath lightly because that would be asking for trouble.
“The manager has drilled that into us all week, which is an indication of how much we have to be switched on.Good tie”They have some players who have played at a higher level before and they seem to have a decent manager so it has the makings of a good tie.”
Dundee have lost the services of star men Gary Harkins, Sean Higgins and Craig Forsyth over the summer however, Weston reckons new signings such as Steven Milne, Jake Hyde, Ryan Conroy and Neil McGregor can all help the Dark Blues kick on and hit the ground running in today’s trip to Angus.
“Winning breeds confidence so a cup run could give us a platform for the rest of the season,” he said. “We want to develop the winning habit as soon as possible so that’s why we are looking to get off to a flier.
“The new lads have settled in well and it would be nice also for them to get off to a winning start. It’s an earlier start to the campaign than normal, but we have had a good pre-season and are raring to go.”
Graham Bayne is set to miss the game with a calf strain.
Meanwhile, Arbroath’s Brian Kerr admits he is still pinching himself that his first competitive game since last year will come against the side which jettisoned him.
The former Scotland midfielder was one of the players forced to leave Dundee in October when they went into administration.
However, Kerr insists he harbours no hard feelings towards the club.
“It is never easy when a club goes into administration,” he said. “It was difficult as you still have to pay bills and you have to do whatever you have to.
“There is no bitterness though with Dundee. It was one of those things where the administrator came in and had to make decisions. Of course, it just so happens that my first competitive game for Arbroath will be against Dundee in the Ramsdens Cup this Saturday.
“You would think I had signed here just because that game was coming along!” he joked. “I honestly believe we are capable of causing an upset, but ultimately the league is the most important thing for us.”