Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara is determined to adopt a cautious approach regarding his pursuit of Wigan striker Billy McKay, despite the fact the Latics have accepted a £200,000 bid for the player.
The Tannadice boss has been a long-term admirer of the 26-year-old Northern Ireland international and the Tangerines made two unsuccessful offers for McKay earlier this summer.
It looks like it is third time lucky for McNamara but he isn’t taking anything for granted until McKay has agreed to put pen to paper on a deal with United, especially as there has been late interest from Hibs in the player.
The manager said: “He (McKay) is someone we were trying to get in the summer but it never happened.
“I have spoken to him but until we agree terms and it gets done, there’s nothing else I can do.
“Until it’s done, we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.
“I hope it could be done before Saturday but there are things still to be completed if it’s going to be the case.
“The window is closing in a few days but ideally it would be done before the weekend.
“Fingers crossed, there will be positive news.”
While McKay is a possible arrival, there was a definite departure earlier this week when Dutch midfielder Rodney Sneijder left United by mutual agreement to return home for health reasons.
McNamara was understandably reluctant to talk in depth about what had happened but he admitted he had not ruled out a return to Tannadice for the player.
He said; “To be honest, it’s a difficult one. I don’t really want to go into that much.
“I think the club have tried to protect him from the word go.
“The most important thing is that the lad gets back playing football.
“We’re obviously disappointed because I thought he would have been a good player for us.
“He is a good footballer and he is a nice lad as well.
“But obviously sometimes there are other things going on.
“I have been keeping in touch with him, texting him.
“We’ll continue to stay in touch because there might be something further down the line to come back over.
“At the moment, though, it’s difficult. Again, in football it’s not just about pulling on the strip.
“Players can get injuries too and there are plenty other things which go into it which people don’t see.”
United will be without the injured Callum Morris, Mario Bilate and Paul Paton for tomorrow’s game at Ross County while Scott Fraser and John Rankin face late fitness tests.
McNamara revealed that Paton, who last played in the Tangerines victory over Hamilton on April 11 last season, is still waiting for word on a knee op.
The manager added: “He hasn’t been for the operation yet.
“He’s seeing the surgeon but it’s still not been done.
“There’s no date yet and obviously between the doctor and the surgeon they’re trying to sort that out.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare for the lad.
“Morris, though, is getting a wee bit closer. He’s been doing the pre-season kind of stuff.
“He’s been running and hopefully he’ll be back in contention after the international break.
“There’s been deadline after deadline but the target was always to get him back once we return from the international break.”