Following a radical overhaul of the Dundee squad during the summer, Jim McAlister admitted that he feared his place in the side could be in jeopardy.
That was despite the fact the former Morton and Hamilton midfielder had been an integral part of the Dark Blues team that won promotion to the Premiership under the guidance of firstly John Brown and then Paul Hartley.
It was the latter manager who wielded the axe before bringing in a succession of new faces and at the start of the season, McAlister’s fears looked to have been realised as he struggled to break into the new-look team.
His big chance came though when skipper Kevin Thomson had to go off against Inverness on August 13 after just eight minutes with McAlister going on as a substitute.
He hasn’t looked back since, being ever present as Dundee have consolidated their place in the league and stormed through to the last 16 of the Scottish Cup with last week’s dramatic win over Aberdeen.
Now, McAlister is hoping his run in the team can continue against high-flying Inverness this afternoon.
He said: “If you are sitting on the sidelines, you are hoping that you will eventually get your chance to get back in.
“Unfortunately for Thommo that night, he picked up his calf injury.
“The flip side of that is I managed to get myself back into the team.
“Luckily, the manager has seen enough to keep me in the team up until now.”
When asked if he was worried over the summer seeing so many new guys coming in to the club, McAlister admitted: “Yes, you do think about it but I also believe it is healthy as well. You need to have confidence in your own ability.
“Nobody should be guaranteed to play every week. It should make you work hard on the training ground to catch the manager’s eye.
“You were sitting over the summer thinking we are going to have a really good squad this season and hopefully it would not be like two years ago when we were constantly fighting against relegation.
“Instead, with the calibre of player the manager was bringing in, the hope was that we would be higher up the league.
“So far that has been the case.
“I was fortunate enough that I had another year’s deal while some of the boys from last year were out of contract.
“The manager only kept a handful of us but Kevin McBride has come in and done well in a few games and Gary Irvine has been brilliant.
“That’s just a couple of examples from last year.
“Obviously the manager wanted to put his own stamp on things and he has done but thankfully we have stayed part of his plans as well.”
McAlister has often been a victim of his own versatility, being played in a variety of positions.
Now 29, he is looking for some stability and recently he has been used in a deeper midfield spot alongside Thomson.
McAlister is now hoping that he has secured that position for the foreseeable future.
He added: “In the last couple of games, I have been playing a wee bit deeper alongside Thommo.
“It is a bit different from what I was used to before so it is good to have his experience beside me.
“It is a new role in the team for me and having Thommo there makes it easier for me.
“I don’t think I have been able to nail down one position throughout my career.
“I have chopped and changed and filled in here and there.
“But when you get to your late 20s, you want to have a settled position.
“Thankfully, the manager sees me playing in the middle and that’s where I really want to be.”
McAlister admitted that his midfield role is made easier by the hard work up front of on-fire striker David Clarkson.
The former Scotland front man has been making all the headlines thanks to his incredible goal-scoring streak that has seen him net eight goals in eight consecutive games.
However, McAlister insists Clarkson deserves great credit for the way he has also been defending from the front.
He said: “Clarky has been brilliant.
“But it’s hard to believe that he was bouncing around different clubs in the summer and no-one was willing to take a gamble on him.
“Since he came in here, he has been different class.
“He works his backside off which helps us in the middle of the park as he occupies centre-halves and defences don’t get out too easily.
“Everything that is falling for him in the box, he stays composed and sticks them away.
“He doesn’t panic in front of goal. So from a team point of view to have someone like that defending from the front, it makes a big difference.”
Dundee will be without the injured Kyle Letheren, Peter MacDonald and Paul McGowan although Craig Wighton could return to the squad.