James McPake remains confident that Graham Dorrans will still be a Dundee player at the end of the transfer window.
But he also knows there will be plenty of interest in his star midfielder.
MK Dons boss Russell Martin is keen to take his former Rangers team-mate to England and it is understood there is a clause in Dorrans’ contract that would allow him to cut short his one-year Dark Blues deal.
McPake, though, believes Dens Park is where the 32-year-old wants to continue playing his football.
“It’s no surprise at all if other clubs are interested in Graham,” said the Dundee manager.
“Of course people will be looking at him and I think there will be interest over the next few weeks.
“It’s maybe a similar situation to when we signed him – I suppose we’ll find out who his biggest pal is now!
“It could be a big test for him!
“I’m confident Graham will be here for the season. Every conversation I’ve had with him, he’s enjoying his football.
“He’s fitted in well with the boys and he is playing a big role here.
“He is an important member of the squad and he’s enjoying playing again.
“When we spoke to him about coming here it was all about getting back playing football.
“He wanted to show people he can play consistently with his knee. That’s his burning desire.”
McPake hasn’t ruled out trying to tempt Dorrans into extending his contract with Dundee.
He added: “Will we try to offer him a new deal? That’s something we will speak about but right now I think he’s happy doing what he’s doing.
“He’s playing 90 minutes and playing consistently well.
“He hasn’t spent an extra day with the physio beyond the normal rehab stuff everyone does.
“We haven’t had to wrap him up. He’s in a good place.”
Meanwhile, there is no doubt in McPake’s mind that Fin Robertson knows he is at “the perfect place” to develop his career.
“Fin is another player who will be getting attention because of his age and how we’ll he’s playing in this environment,” he said.
“He still has so much to learn and there are a lot of experienced players he can pick things up from.
“I looked at him in the hostile atmosphere of a derby and he handled it well. A lot of that was down to the players around him who have helped him.
“He always asks questions of the senior players so he’s at the perfect place for his career.
“He realises that himself.
“Teams will be watching him but he just needs to look around, see the quality he has around him.
“We will be speaking to him about his contract. He’s still got two years to run on his deal but you can’t go beyond three years at his age.
“But it’s something we will be looking at.”
Jamie Ness, Declan McDaid and Andrew Nelson are all doubts for today’s Dens Park clash with promotion rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
McPake said: “We are going into this game against Inverness in a better run of form, which is pleasing because we have added consistency.
“Inverness will be looking to make amends for losing last weekend against Arbroath.”
