Ray McKinnon is desperate to win his first derby as Dundee United manager, but admits his team selection for Sunday’s clash with Dundee could be influenced by events elsewhere in the competition.
They will determine the extent of fit-again midfielder Willo Flood’s involvement at Dens Park.
With the rest of the final round of group ties taking place on Saturday, the city rivals will know what they have to do to qualify for the knockout stages.
Both teams currently stand on nine points after wins in each of their group games to date and that could be enough to qualify.
The pair already know they are guaranteed the top two places in Group C.
And if qualification is secured without another ball being kicked — having missed most of the pre-season with a leg problem — Flood may be given extra game time on Sunday
“Willo’s only started training again this week, so normally you’d say Sunday is too soon for his first game, but knowing him he’ll be on at me to be involved,” said Ray.
“It depends how he’s done in training, but I’d say he’d probably be on the bench and if we could we’d bring him on to get a bit of time on the park.
“If we have already qualified it could mean we’d be able to give him a longer run out.”
What the gaffer won’t be doing is putting Flood’s fitness before trying to get a result. He knows how much a win would mean to the supporters.
“It’s a derby and I’m just as keen as any United fan to win and it would also mean we qualify top of the group.
“That would be the perfect way to prepare for the league starting up next week.
“That has to be our number one priority and Willo is an important player for us.
“The quicker we can get him back playing and fully match fit, the better.
“It’s something I’ll think about, but whatever way I go, we want to win the derby and Dundee will be exactly the same.”
Another decision facing Ray is whether or not to use new recruit Scott McDonald from the start.
He’ll definitely be involved — but having not played since last season — is not expected to last the full 90 minutes.
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