Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon admits he was taken aback when he suddenly realised that he had made no less than seven changes for Saturday’s Irn-Bru Challenge cup tie against Peterhead.
A combination of injuries as well as a desire to hand debuts to new signings Frank van der Struijk, William Edjenguele and Tony Andreu were the reasons for the new-look team from the previous league match against Raith Rovers.
However, McKinnon admits having so many options available is a sure-fire indication of the strength of depth at his disposal now.
He said: “I didn’t initially realise I had made seven changes on Saturday but I don’t think it weakened my side at all.
“I thought, ‘That’s a right good team going out there’.
“It was just a coincidence that we had three new signings playing as well.
“I was delighted for Tony scoring the winner but he could have had three or four goals.
“He is going to be a really good player for us this season.
“William and Frank will just keep getting better and fitter.
“We are getting the squad together now that we had been hoping for.
“We just need to keep building the performances now.
“The next two or three weeks is going to be a busy spell.”
Many of the changes last Saturday were enforced ones with no less than six players injured.
However, McKinnon is hopeful that most, if not all, will be fit enough for this weekend’s trip to Dunfermline.
He said: “We had six injuries going into the game.
“Willo Flood did his ankle on Friday and it was all swollen up. I ruled him out but he phoned me on Saturday morning to say he was fit.
“But there were a lot of others including Cammy Bell who was struggling with his groin who were out.
“So we had a few injuries but I think they should all be fit for this Saturday.
“I am fairly sure we will have a full squad.”
