He will not, though, be pursuing his interest in foreign trialists Didier Paass or Akwasi Okyere. They did not do enough last night to be offered anything.

“Didier came off injured and Akwasi is not quite what we are looking for, but we did have a Scottish trialist and I am speaking to him with a view to getting him fixed up for the rest of the season,” said Alex.

“You can never be sure until a deal is done, but I think I have a reasonable chance of getting him and I’d be happy with that.”

Catching the eye last night was Khalid Hamdaoui, who hit the net twice and set up Dundee’s other goal.

“It was a good game because the boys were 2-0 down at one stage and showed character to come back,” added Alex.

“I actually thought Khalid could have played better, but it might have been because the standard was a bit below his level and he started over-complicating things rather then keeping them simple.

“However, with his goals and some of his other touches, he showed again what a lot of ability he has and I’m happy I got him fixed up earlier this week.”

Club captain Bobby Mann could be on the way before the deadline after Peterhead finally made their expected move for his services.

The north-east outfit’s manager Steve Paterson worked with Mann at Inverness and, since the big defender asked for a transfer earlier this month, the Blue Toon was known to be his preferred destination.

While Dundee are unlikely to ask for a fee, personal terms had still to be worked out late this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Dundee and Hibs have reached an agreement that will see Jay Shields extend his loan period at Dens until the end of the season.