Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Utd expect pair to make cup-tie
DUNDEE Un ited boss Robbie Neilson expects defender Stewa rt Murdoch and midfielder Sam Stanton to be fit for Saturday’s Scottish Cup trip to Montrose.
Full-back Murdoch had to be replaced by Paul Watson after taking a knock in the second half of Saturday’s victory over Dunfermline at Tannadice.
And, by the end of the 90 minutes, Stanton was limping heavily. Robbie, though, is confident both will make his squad for the Links Park excursion.
“Murdoch had a wee problem with his knee. He tried to play on with it but couldn’t.
“However, I don’t think it will be too bad and he should be back for this week,” said the manager.
“Stanton is OK, he was just tight. He covered a lot of yards during the game and was feeling it at the end.”
The squad should also be bolstered by the addition of Morgaro Gomis as he starts his third spell at United i n the competition he won with them back in 2010.
The 33-year-old signed a short-term deal on Friday to provide cover for the central midfield area but international clearance didn’t come through in time for him to face the Pars.
Gomis has not played since before Christmas when he ended a short stay in Oman where he’d been turning out for Sur SC but, having been training with United for the past few weeks, is fit enough to go straight into the team if required.
As Robbie continues his effort to strengthen his squad further, there could also be more new faces i n the line-up by the weekend, though it is set to be later in the week before any new deals are completed.
And he believes in a fit-again Nicky Clark, who got the winner on Saturday, he has effectively got another new addition to his squad.
Since joining from the Pars last summer, injury problems have seen the 27-year-old miss almost half United’s games and his manager is hoping he stays fit for the rest of the season.
“He is a very experienced player, has played in the top flight and scored a lot of goals, so we have missed him,” he said.
“As soon as we got him back training the plan was to get him straight in because we only have Pavol Safranko who is an outand-out striker at the moment.”