The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hendry in line to face the Hibees
DUNDEE V HIBERNIAN: Big defender’s return to squad delights boss McCann
Dundee boss Neil McCann will welcome transfer target Jack Hendry back to his squad for tonight’s game with Hibs at Dens.
The highly-rated defender has been the subject of intense speculation recently with Celtic and several English clubs being tipped to make a move for the 22-year-old in the January window.
Hendry missed Saturday’s Scottish Cup draw with Inverness because of flu, with his absence further fuelling talk of an imminent departure.
McCann admitted there is nothing he can do about the speculation – however he is just glad to have Hendry back in contention once more for what is an important league game.
The manager said: “Big Jack is good and is back in the squad.
“There is only so much I can say but the most important thing is he is back fit.”
“I expect Jack to get on with things and show what a good player he is,” said McCann.
“He has been out for a couple of weeks so I am just delighted he is back in contention. The only thing I am interested in is that he is fit and ready to go for us.
“What happens or what doesn’t happen, I have no control over it until something real occurs. At this moment in time, there is nothing to talk about.”
While Hendry returns to the squad, Sofien Moussa and Kerr Waddell are suspended for the Hibs game, while McCann will once again be without the injured Julen Etxabeguren, Roarie Deacon, Lewis Spence, Craig Wighton and Marcus Haber with the latter set to have an injection.
The manager added: “Marcus has to get a jag in his back so that will take a couple of days to settle down.”
Dundee struggled to shake off the effects of being without a game for three weeks when they played Inverness and they now face a replay after drawing with the Championship side.
McCann admitted that throwing Premiership teams straight back into action in a vitally-important competition like the Scottish Cup after the winter break was something that needed to be looked at. He said: “I would agree with that. Maybe they are trying to level things out to give the lower division sides a better opportunity, I don’t know.
“The teams who can’t go away or who have chosen not to go away can’t arrange competitive games so that’s where you are stuck a wee bit. But that aside, it is not an excuse. I said what I thought it (the break) could have been in terms of contributing to the bad performance.
“However, we still should have had enough – without being disrespectful to Inverness and we would never be – to beat them. We didn’t and we let ourselves down.”
Having now shaken off the rust, McCann’s men are ready to go once again against Hibs.
The manager added: “They have been good games between the sides this season. Even the defeat down there, we could easily have won the game. We played really, really well in that match.
“I remember a super stop by the keeper from Bak (Faissal El Bakhtaoui) and then clearly they should have had a man sent off (Anthony Stokes) who was the architect of the second goal.
“But they have been good games between two sides who like to play football. Hibs have been a breath of fresh air in the Premiership and I am looking forward to the game.”
Meanwhile, McCann admitted there is nothing imminent on the horizon in terms of new additions to the squad.
He added: “We are not in a position to pull the trigger too early because finances dictate that. And we have so many games coming up that things can change. Positionally, if you get injuries you then have to change your focus.
“It gets busy towards the end of January. This is my first January and it’s not been enjoyable because it can be absolutely crazy, the amount of players that are thrown your way.
“I think we are getting traction in terms of recruitment, which is good. We didn’t have any in the summer.
“We had a build-up through the months of players that could become available, and we will be better-placed come the summer again.”
Nicky Low is set to rejoin Irish side Derry City on a six-month loan deal.
The 26-year-old’s contract with the Dark Blues runs out in June, meaning in all likelihood he will not be returning to play at Dens.
The midfielder became a fans’ favourite at Derry last season and although the loan deal has yet to be formally completed, Low linked up with his City team-mates at the start of this week ahead of the club’s pre-season trip to Dublin.