Freezing temperatures have again been forecast tonight, but the Dens gaffer is keeping his fingers crossed Ayr United’s pitch will remain playable and, this time, he can successfully complete his spying mission.

“Gordon Wallace watched them again for us on Saturday, so we do have a comprehensive report on them. But it will be nice if I can see them myself and get a clearer picture of how they are going about their business.”

Having seen them beat St Johnstone earlier in the cup and from his vastly-experienced youth coach’s reports, Alan admitted he already had a fair idea who the danger men in Rowan Alexander’s side will be.

“They have quite a few decent players and there is danger from several areas, but you just have to look at their results to see Kenny Deuchar and James Grady will be a threat.

“Deuchar has been scoring goals since he went there and Grady has got his fair share this season. He obviously has strong connections to both clubs in Dundee and, in a lot of ways, he is similar to Bryan Deasley.

“When they are on the pitch they are never standing still and that means defenders do not get a moment’s peace during a game.”

While the cup will be on Alan’s mind tonight, he will not be ignoring Saturday’s league game at Ross County and, despite a disappointing First Division campaign, has been stressing he wants the right approach in every game between now and the end of the season.

“I think that, mentally, there have been too many times this season when players have not prepared themselves properly for league games.

“I can’t just accept that because, if nothing else, fans have paid good money for season tickets and have a right to expect us to go about our business in the league the way we have done in the cup.”

Looking at the trip to Dingwall, strikers Simon Lynch (flu) and Tam McManus (calf) are both expected to be available, though they will take things easy in training for a few days.