Pars striker Liam Buchanan has vowed to fight for his place at East End Park despite the SPL under-21 rule limiting his early season chances.
The 26-year-old has not made the substitutes bench for the Pars’ first two matches back in the top flight against St Mirren and Inverness.
Buchanan did come on as a second-half sub in the Scottish Communities League Cup win at Annan, but it has been Andy Kirk, Andy Barrowman, David Graham and Steven McDougall in attack for the league games.
McInnes has admitted he is not a fan of the rule forcing teams to list three under-21 players in their match day squads.
Buchanan admits it is hurting his chances so far, but said he simply has to work harder to impress Fifers boss Jim McIntyre.
Ahead of the trip to Perth, the ex-Partick forward said, “It’s been a bit frustrating as I’ve maybe not been involved as much as I’d like to be.
“It’s maybe partly due to the under-21 rule, as you need three of those players on the bench.”
He added, “I’m not using that as an excuse as why I’m not at least getting on the bench, but it makes it a bit harder.
“It’s the Premier League now and you just want to be involved. It’s unfortunate that at the moment I’m not.
“It’s going to be a whole squad effort for us to compete in the league that’s why I’ve got to respect the boys that are playing.