| Training this morning were Canadian defender Justin Thompson and Israeli midfielder Guy Melamed. They were due to be joined this afternoon by Mustafa Kalkan, a Turkish-born striker who has been playing in Belgium.
Thompson is a centre-half, while Melamed, a former Israeli Under-21 international, who has been playing in America, operates in central midfield. Like Kalkan, both have EU passports and, if they impress during their week-long stay, should be able to sign up and be available for selection fairly quickly.
Alan, meanwhile, was pleased with the performances of last week’s recruits Steven Craig and Stuart McCluskey in the 1-1 draw at St Johnstone.
“Steven is off to a flier with his early goal and, although he had a chance in the second half where I felt he might have done better, I was happy with him,” he said.
“Stuart was just what I said he would be — a steady Eddie who fitted in well. I thought defensively he did very well and while he might have been a bit better on the ball, he had not played for a while and that was understandable.
“Overall, I was happy with some aspects of the performances, but not others. I felt the boys fought hard and deserved their point, but if they had held on to the lead a bit longer it could easily have been a win.
“St Johnstone had a lot of possession second half, but we coped with it well and, with a little bit more confidence, we could have got three points.”
The weekend exertions left several players on the treatment table, with Iain Anderson and Adrian Madaschi both needing attention to knocks suffered in Perth.
Skipper Barry Smith, who played despite a groin problem, was rested from training. It could also be a few days before McDiarmid Park absentee Garry Brady has recovered sufficiently from an ankle injury to resume training with the rest of the squad.
Tonight, in an event organised by Dee 4 Life, fans can head to the Andy Penman Lounge at Dens Park at 7.30 for a question- and-answer session with the new boss and his assistant Billy Kirkwood.
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