Jim Goodwin swooped for Jordan Tillson to shore up a Dundee United midfield missing key players.
The Tannadice boss has secured the 30-year-old Ross County star on a season-long loan deal and the Englishman will go straight into the Terrors’ squad for Saturday’s SPFL Trust Trophy tie with Dunfermline.
Tillson’s arrival is a timely one, with Goodwin now resigned to being without skipper Ross Docherty for up to a month, while fellow midfielders Craig Sibbald and Chris Mochrie are still recovering from injury.
The Terrors boss admitted: “I am delighted to get someone of Jordan’s experience.
“He has played over 100 games for Ross County in the Premiership.
“He became available for loan and obviously it is an area of the park where we are a bit light at the moment with the loss of Docherty and Sibbald to injury.
“Archie Meekison is away with the Scotland Under-21 team and unfortunately Chris Mochrie has an injury so we felt we needed to try to strengthen that particular area of the park and that’s the reason behind bringing Jordan in.
“He is a good type. We have spent a lot of time on the character of players in the recruitment process this season and Jordan is another one that ticks all those boxes, a real team player and a tenacious midfielder.
“He is very comfortable on the ball as well so I think he will be a very good addition.”
Docherty had recently recovered from one hamstring injury but the problem has struck again with the 30-year-old missing last weekend’s Championship win over Airdrieonians.
The manager lamented: “It is actually the other hamstring unfortunately.
“We will need to wait and see but it could be three to four weeks before we see Doc back in a first-team game.
“Craig Sibbald is making great progress and we are trying to push him along as best we can but he is probably two to three weeks away as well.
“He is ahead of schedule and has been working really hard. He has a lot of bone bruising around the ankle but fortunately there wasn’t too much damage done to the ligaments initially so no surgery required.
“It was just a case of letting it settle down and slowly but surely building him back up.
“Mochrie has a groin strain and will probably be another couple of weeks.”
SPFL Trust Trophy ‘opportunities’
Goodwin insisted he will not be taking tomorrow’s cup game with Dunfermline lightly as he is determined to extend United’s six-game unbeaten run.
And the 41-year-old admitted that with seven players missing because of injury and international duty, he could not make wholesale changes even if he wanted to.
He added: “We are going to take the competition seriously.
“We are on a very good run of form at the moment and we want to carry that on.
“There will be opportunities for one or two of the squad players who haven’t quite featured as much as they would have liked.
“But because of the amount of players we have missing – Docherty, Sibbald, Mochrie and Sadat Anaku who is injured as well and then we have Jack Newman, Rory MacLeod and Archie Meekison all away on international duty.
“That is seven players out of the squad so we aren’t exactly flush with loads of options where we can make wholesale changes.”
Charlie Mulgrew, who left United last month, called time on his playing career earlier this week and Goodwin wished the former defender all the best for the future.
The Irishman added: “Charlie’s had a wonderful career.
“For anybody to be at the top level of your game at the age of 37 is great credit to him.
“He was a pleasure to work with during his time here and we wish him well.”
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