Dundee boss Paul Hartley insists if “you’re good enough, you’re old enough” to play a part in his side’s promotion push.
The Dens manager selected two teenagers in 16-year-old Craig Wighton and 18-year-old Cammy Kerr to face Cowdenbeath at the weekend.
That was despite the fact table-topping Dundee are involved in one of the most nail-biting title run-ins in years, with Hamilton and Falkirk still hot on their trail.
Hartley is adamant that he will not shy away from selecting youngsters with just three games of the regular season left.
He said: “We’ve shown we’re not frightened to play the kids. They’re the future of the club and we have high hopes for them.
“Craig has obviously had a lot of attention on him while young Cammy was in for his first start at the weekend. We have faith in them that they’re good enough. That’s the way it should be.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough as far as we’re concerned. They believe in themselves too, which is vital, and they can play a big part in the run-in.”
Dundee comprehensively defeated the Blue Brazil 4-0 at Dens and the manager has demanded more of the same from his players when they travel to take on a Morton side who had their relegation from the Championship confirmed last weekend.
Hartley said: “We had great intensity in our play against Cowdenbeath. That’s what we were really looking for from the players and that’s what we got.
“Now we go to Morton on Saturday and hopefully get the same kind of performance. We want to keep up our levels of performance between now and the end of the season. We’ll take one game at a time.
“That’s the bestway to look at it to keep everyone focused.”