Dundee United’s new loan recruit Luke Bolton is in the running to face St Johnstone and can make an immediate impact.
The Manchester City wide player finished the season with Luton Town in the English Championship four weeks ago but is considered to be match-ready.
United assistant manager Stevie Frail feels Bolton is capable of hitting the ground running after his deal was confirmed yesterday.
Frail said: “I think he was fit enough to feature last Saturday against Kilmarnock (the 1-1 friendly draw) but we just decided to give him a little bit of extra running after training.
“The beginning of July was maybe his last game or session but, having watched training on Tuesday morning, he looked sharp.
“Whether the manager looks to start him is another thing but he will be fit, ready and in contention for the game on Saturday.
“He is quick, exciting and likes to run at people, so, hopefully, we have a player there who wants to go and play on this platform and make a name for himself.”
Bolton is unlikely to be the last new arrival at Tannadice, of course, with Frail adding: “I think the manager is maybe working on one or two things.
“But we have the squad and he’s happy enough with what he has seen.
“I think he knows we probably need to strengthen in certain areas but we have a full week to get the message across to start the game properly and get the three points.”
Also in with an excellent chance of making Saturday’s team to take on the McDiarmid men is United captain Mark Reynolds, who sat out the final pre-season friendly against Killie due to a knock.
Frail said: “We could have risked him last weekend and Mark probably wanted to be involved.
“However, he knew if he played he could have made his injury slightly worse so we left him and he was fine on Tuesday.”
Of course, Frail and his gaffer Micky Mellon are relatively new faces at the club too.
The bond they formed as players together at Tranmere, though, is helping both get used to their new surroundings.
Frail said: “I moved to Tranmere Rovers in 1998 and Micky was already a player there.
“To be honest, his was the first voice I heard when I walked into the club!
“He was technically good, a box-to-box midfielder with plenty of energy and quality.
“The friendship just grew from then. I was only there for two years but we have stayed in touch ever since.
“The more that I worked with him, you could see he thinks about the game a lot.
“Sometimes when you play, you do your own thing and go home. You don’t really think about the game.
“But I think he studied it a wee bit more and I saw that the longer I was with him,” added the Tannadice number two.
“His accent is still broader than mine and he has been down there for years.
“Seriously, coming here is a great opportunity for me and I am delighted he gave me the call.
“I actually spoke to Micky a lot and I met him just before lockdown, paying him a visit at Tranmere.
“I knew his ideas and thoughts on the game and I was up here last week speaking to him as well.
“I am getting to know what he wants. At times our ideas might differ but his are the ideas that matter so it is up to me along with the rest of the guys to get that message onto the players as best we can.”
