New boy hard at it in Utd training

DUNDEE United new boy Thomas Mikkelsen is being worked hard in training to make sure he’s ready to make an immediate impact at Tannadice this weekend.

The 26-year-old loan man from Odense, who t he Tang erines have been tracking since the summer, was signed and cleared in time to play the final few minutes of Friday’s defeat at Hibs.

And, but for the fact his arrival came bang in the middle of Danish football’s two-month l ong winter break and just after he’d been on holiday, he might have started.

The Tangerines, though, are confident they can get his fitness levels up in time for him to be considered for the XI that tries to return to winning ways when Queen of the South visit on Saturday.

“It wouldn’t have been fair to have thrown Thomas right in on Friday because it was about a month since his l a s t g a m e ,” s a i d manager Ray McKinnon.

“We gave him 15 minutes or so at the end so he could get a feel of how the team works and the pace of our game.

“He’s been training hard since and we will be able to see more of him this week. He’s a player we feel can do a job for us.”

Mikkelsen’s arrival from Scandinavia was one moment of cheer i n an otherwise bad weekend for United.

However, despite falling four points behind in the Championship promotion race because of that Easter Road loss, the manager is remaining in determined mood.

There’s a long way to go as far as he’s concerned and his team will fight all the way to the end of the campaign.

“Four points is nothing in this league. It’s a couple of draws for them and you’re back in there,” he added.

Thomas Mikkelsen made his debut off the bench on Friday.