And with the arrival of Neil Barrett from Portsmouth, plus Brent Sancho proving his fitness in the win over United, he is now in a position to shuffle his pack if he wants to.

“What I have for tomorrow is a few options and that is not something I’ve had for a while now because of the injury situation,” he said today.

“That could mean that, if there is a tactical switch I feel would help the team, I might just be in a position to make it. It would not be a question of resting players for Tuesday’s CIS semi, it would be a case of adjusting the team because I feel it would give us a better chance of winning.”

Not that the injury situation at Dens has cleared completely. Milne is a slight doubt after bruising a toe in training, while a derby knock has seen skipper Barry Smith miss a few sessions. “Steven has had trouble kicking the ball. It sounds ridiculous that something like an injury to a toe can be a problem, but it is preventing him doing ball work,” explained Jim.

“I think he’ll be OK by tomorrow, though, and, while Barry has only done a bit of work in the gym with us, we know that, with him, he will be ready to play by 3 pm tomorrow.”

A win would see Dundee leapfrog Hibs and go sixth and Jim feels that would be a big psychological boost. “A couple of weeks ago, the talk about us was negative. But it could be back in the top six by tomorrow night and the talk would be positive. It won’t be easy and it is a hard game to call. I think it is going to be a hard-fought contest.”

Duncan McLean has been loaned to Arbroath for the remainder of the season, but Jim has turned down loan requests from a couple of First Division clubs for Callum McDonald. Dundee had been linked with Wrexham wing-back Carlos Edwards, but no signing attempt has been made.