Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara is preparing to make the most difficult team selection of his time at Tannadice.
The Tangerines travel to Fir Park to take on managerless Motherwell in the Premiership’s latest Friday night match.
Planning for the game has become significantly more complicated for McNamara thanks to so many players battling it out for first-team jerseys.
Twenty players have been used by the United gaffer in the last three games against Inverness Caley Thistle, Hibs and St Mirren.
As McNamara admits, it is a good problem to have and shows the league leaders in a good light as they prepare to defend their position at the top of the table going into the international break.
“It is probably the hardest team selection I will have had to make since I arrived here,” he said. “I have a few tough decisions to make but it’s nice to have to make them.
“The reason is that we are not talking about having 12, 13, 14 players we almost have two teams now. It is our younger players who have given me this ‘problem’ which is healthy for the whole club.
“It has been early in the season to have the young guys coming through like this but, because of Andrew Robertson last season, they have all seen what can happen and have been aiming to get into the first team.
“They all have egos and think they should be playing for United’s first team and that’s the way I want them to think.
“The competition means there are not players just turning up and knowing they will be playing every week. They are all part of the team and no one is here to make up the numbers.”
McNamara revealed that, even when he told people within the club he had made six changes for Saturday’s clash with the Buddies, he was met by a few “raised eyebrows”.
It was a risk to bring the likes of central defender Calum Butcher into an unfamiliar midfield role but it was one that paid off with a comfortable 3-0 win.
Asked if there is an element of a gamble in a strategy that sees six fresh faces brought in, he replied: “Yes, of course there is. If it doesn’t work you get criticised but that won’t ever change anything for me.
“I was up for criticism last year when I changed the side and it didn’t work but you have to play players.
“A lot of people would have had raised eyebrows on Saturday and I know even a few people around the club were surprised when I told them my team. But if you had been watching our under-20 matches it wouldn’t have been a great surprise.”
It was by taking in games in the development league that McNamara realised he had a good option for the middle of the park in Butcher.
“Calum played a few under-20 games in that midfield role alongside Scott Smith and has been very good there,” added the Tannadice boss.
“It is a position he can play very well. You can see he has the strength and pace to break forward and he was involved in our first two goals on Saturday. His pass for the second goal was particularly good. I am happy for him because he has been very patient.
“His attitude in both training and the under-20 games he has played has been first class.
“If he keeps that up he will have a good future here. It is down to the individual in how they go about their business at training.
“It is they who dictate whether they are here playing and are part of our squad.”
* United end tickets for the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie away to Motherwell on Saturday November 29 will go on sale from the ticket office in Tannadice Street on Wednesday November 12.
Tickets are priced £15 for adults, £10 for over-60s and full-time students and £5 for under-16s. Tickets will also be available at the turnstiles on the day of the game, subject to demand.