| And, as well as meaning new faces being added to the first-team squad, a shake-up to the coaching set-up at Tannadice is also under way.
That has seen goalkeeping coach Scott Thomson leave the club, and he will be replaced by a player-coach next season.
Thanking Thomson for his efforts, boss Craig Levein admitted the change was partly down to the harsh economic climate.
“I am making this change to bring in an experienced goalkeeper, who will still be available to play and coach as well,” he explained.
“That will free up cash to bring in another first-team player, which makes it the sensible option.”
And strengthening the squad for another crack at European qualification next term is the gaffer’s No. 1 priority.
“Missing out on the last day yesterday is a huge disappointment and we are all still feeling it today, but, if you look at where we are now as compared to a couple of years ago, things are much better,” he added.
“That’s back-to-back fifth-place finishes and having come so close to Europe will only make us even more determined to get there next time.”
Defender Lee Wilkie, meanwhile will shortly have a tidy-up operation on his knee.
It was a problem with the joint that forced him off in yesterday’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Rangers.
“There is debris floating around in his knee — and it has locked a few times in training, and, yesterday, it happened in the game,” said Craig.
“We’ve been planning to get it flushed out for a while and, by getting it done now, he should be ready for pre-season training.” |
