Dundee United striker Jon Daly is ready to answer an SOS call for the Tangerines this afternoon.
The big Irishman admitted that had fellow frontman Johnny Russell not been suspended for the clash against Inverness Caley Thistle then his own return to duty after injury might have been delayed.
However, as he himself put it, “needs must” and Daly is likely to line up alongside Fulham loan signing Lauri Dalla Valle in the United attack when the Highlanders come calling to Tannadice.
“It looks like I will have to go in because Johnny is suspended,” said Daly. “In an ideal world I would have maybe eased my way back in but that’s not the way things are.
“It is a case of needs must. With the squad being so small we just have to get on with it.
“If I start I will just see if I can last 90 minutes and, if not, then I will just do as much as I can.
“I have not done a lot of work for the last three or four weeks and we have just been waiting to see what the knee specialist said. I wouldn’t say I feel great but I am OK.”
Daly is looking forward to partnering Dalla Valle after watching the young Finn gamely plough a lone furrow against Rangers last Saturday after United went down to 10 men.
“He has done really well,” said Daly. “It was difficult for him last Saturday playing up front on his own against Rangers but he showed, both in that match and in his debut at St Johnstone, that he has a bit of ability and will be a good addition to the squad.
“He looks a decent player and if it works out that way then I will be delighted to play alongside him.”
United could be doing with a home SPL win, with only two draws (against Kilmarnock and St Mirren) and two defeats (to Dunfermline and Rangers) to account for their efforts on their own pitch so far.
No one at Tannadice will think it will be straightforward against an ICT team that thumped them in the corresponding fixture last year.
Daly admitted that 4-0 loss in the wake of a tough Europa League tie against AEK Athens was “one of the worst” during his time at the club.
“Everyone was on a downer because we had lost to AEK so that was a major factor in our performance against Inverness,” he said.
“The circumstances leading up to the game didn’t help. In fact, they contributed to it because we had all the hype ahead of the Athens game and we were so looking forward to that on the Thursday and then had to come in on the Friday after losing.”
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“I think that defeat from Inverness was one of the worst for me. Our home form so far this season hasn’t been great and we need to address that.”
David Proctor comes back into contention for ICT following a hamstring injury, while Josh Meekings and Lee Cox are running again after injury but are unlikely to make the squad.
Chris Hogg, Owain Tudur Jones (both knee), Jonny Hayes and Aaron Doran (both shoulder) are definitely out.
Arguably, the star attraction at Tannadice today will be legendary former manager Jim McLean, who will attend the renaming of the Fair Play Stand in his honour.
To mark the occasion, the club have reduced entry prices and all home end spectators will be entered into a free raffle.
Meanwhile, Terry Butcher is looking to gather some more happy memories of Tannadice as Inverness bid to stretch their unbeaten run to three matches.
Butcher revived his coaching career at United alongside assistant Maurice Malpas and more recently enjoyed one of his best afternoons in charge of Caley Thistle at the stadium when they secured that 4-0 win at the start of last season.
Butcher is optimistic his side can build on their most recent games, a win over Kilmarnock and a draw against Hearts, especially with the likes of Greg Tansey and Billy McKay fully fit after injury.
“We’ve got good memories of going there at the same stage last season and winning 4-0, perhaps our best performance of the season,” Butcher said.
“We enjoy going back to Tannadice. We did lose a game there later on last season, that was probably our worst spell of the campaign.
“Obviously me and Maurice love going back there having worked there before particularly Maurice, he’s a Tannadice legend.
“It’s a great place to play. A lot of the boys won’t have played there and won’t know what it’s like.
“I think they will be pleasantly surprised because it’s a wonderful stadium. There is a good atmosphere and our fans generally go down and make a lot of noise.”
Butcher was also encouraged by most performances before Inverness got out of a losing rut, amid what the former Motherwell manager described as the worst injury crisis of his career.
“The way we have played, particularly in the last two matches and particularly towards the end of the games when the team have got to know each other over the 90 minutes, we have done very well,” he said.