DUNDEE UNITED will give young central defender Neill Collins a run-out against Forfar at Station Park today, write Ian Roache and Alexis Smith.

The 20-year-old, who captained Dumbarton last season but now wants to try his luck at a higher level, has also been interesting Kilmarnock.

If he shows up well against the Loons this afternoon, manager Ian McCall could move quickly to snap him up to boost his backline.

Collins has earned rave reviews for his displays for the Sons and had a spell on trial at Charlton Athletic, who are keen to ask him down to The Valley again.

“He is certainly a decent player and will probably give him a half against Forfar,” said McCall. “There would be a small fee involved if we wanted to take it further but we will wait and see.”

One man who won’t be at Station Park today—or at Tannadice next season—is Andy Dowie.

McCall admitted he had wanted to run the rule over the former Ranger, but dropped his interest now that the move was made public.

The United boss even went so far as to contact Partick Thistle, who have had Dowie on trial, to tell them he wasn’t interested. The Jags then signed him on a one-year contract

“You invite the boy for a trial then the next day it is all over the papers, which is disappointing,” said McCall.

The Tangerines will field more first-team players today than was the case against Raith Rovers in midweek.

Graeme Holmes and Stephen O’Donnell will be the only young players in the squad, while Mark Wilson will be rested.

Stuart Duff and Scott Paterson, who are both battling back from injury, will have to wait until Tuesday’s friendly against Brechin before seeing action.

The Loons go into the game on the back of a hard-fought 1-1 draw against top-flight newcomers Inverness Caley Thistle on Thursday night.

United boss McCall was an interested spectator at the match, and he was given plenty to think about by the Loons who produced a strong second-half performance to share the spoils with ICT.

An early goal from Russell Duncan was cancelled out by Forfar new boy David Dunn after 50 minutes.

One player who missed out was defender Alan Rattray, who has been carrying a slight injury, but Forfar boss Ray Stewart is confident he will play today.

“He came through training on Thursday and was a bit tired, but he will feature at some point on Saturday,” he said.

Fans attending the match are reminded that the east terracing at Station Park will be out of commission today.