Boss Alex Rae today laughed off rumours that Gavin Swankie’s non-appearance at Dens on Saturday was down to the fact Dundee were due former club Arbroath money for the attacker (writes Graeme Finnan).

Swankie was a surprise omission from the pool to play Ross County, and that quickly led to talk the Dark Blues were due the Red Lichties a payment because the 23-year-old was on the verge of completing a set amount of appearances.

However, the Dens gaffer set the record straight as to why Swankie wasn’t included — and it had nothing to do with any financial restrictions.

“The reason Gavin didn’t play on Saturday was because he tweaked his hamstring on Friday,” explained Alex.

“To be honest, I’m not sure if we are due Arbroath any money if Gavin plays a certain amount of games for us. But the fact is it’s points we need and, if he’s fit, he’ll be involved.”

Defender Danny Griffin was another late call-off the manager had to contend with at the weekend.

“Danny suffered a back spasm and had to be ruled out. Hopefully, he, and Gavin, will be OK for this weekend,” added Alex, who thought on-loan signing Gary Smith slotted in well at right-back.

“Gary can play anywhere across the back four, so I had no fear about moving him to full-back.”

Meanwhile, the Dens boss was delighted with the way his men fought back from going behind midway through the second half against Ross County to end up winning comfortably.

He said, “I think that may be the first time we’ve come from a goal behind and won a game this season.

“When they went one up, I couldn’t believe it, because we had been the dominant force. But credit to the lads. They dug in when they had to and I thought Andy McLaren was immense, especially when you consider he hadn’t trained for the best part of eight days.”

Tonight, the Dark Blues meet Montrose in a closed-door game that will offer the likes of striker Brian McGinty, midfielder Jon Boggan and defender Garry McKenzie the chance to get some match practice under their belts. The manager is also hoping back-up keeper Calum Reidford will be fit to play after he missed out on Saturday.

“Calum had a problem with the muscle at the top of his thigh and we left him out. I didn’t put another keeper on the bench because I wanted to have another attacking option in there,” said Alex.

Dundee chairman Bob Brannan addressed Dee 4 Life’s AGM, which was held at Dens on Saturday.

Among the items discussed were the club’s plans to reduce a large chunk of the financial burden by restructuring the present debt.

As revealed in the Tele last week, the club are set to make an official announcement within the next fortnight.

Dundee United boss Craig Levein today admitted his men should take a leaf out of Hibs’ book (writes Graeme Finnan).

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Easter Road was a bitter pill for the United gaffer to swallow, especially as his side had gone ahead midway through the first half.

“I was disappointed with the final outcome, because I felt our play merited something from the game,” said Craig.

“I was unhappy with their equaliser right on half-time because I didn’t think it was free-kick in the first place.

“There is nothing I can do about the referee and the decisions he makes, but, what I can do, is work with my own players on the training ground and make sure they try to keep their concentration.

“Hibs have become a difficult team to beat. They’ve been grinding out results and maybe that is a lesson for us to learn.”

Despite that defensive lapse, the manager did take heart from his team’s overall performance, especially that of youngster David Goodwillie. He battled on gamely against towering centre-halves Shelton Martis and Rob Jones.

“There were encouraging things for us in the game. David did well in what was a hard game for him against a couple of experienced defenders. However, he’s still only 17 and has a fair bit to go before he’s the finished article.”

Garry Kenneth and David McCracken were left on the bench, but, as the manager explained, that had more to do with the form of the men in possession of the jerseys.

“Alan Archibald did well when he came in against St Mirren, and I thought he did well again on Saturday. To be fair, I don’t think our centre-backs were the problem.”

Lee Wilkie was also on the bench, although that had more to do with giving the former Dundee man a taste of first-team atmosphere rather than giving him a run.