Dundee boss Paul Hartley admits he has a really difficult decision to make over who will be between the sticks for his side against Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow.
The Dark Blues will travel to Govan in buoyant frame of mind after winning back-to-back games before the international break against Hamilton and Motherwell.
First-choice keeper Scott Bain missed the Accies match because of a groin strain and was replaced in the team by David Mitchell.
Bain was still only fit enough to take a place on the bench against the Steelmen but has now made a full recovery.
However, with Mitchell having kept clean sheets in both matches, the Dens boss will carefully weigh up whether to bring Bain back at Ibrox.
Hartley said: “We have decisions to be made in a couple of positions. Mitch has done well since he has come in and Scott is a talented goalkeeper.
“That’s a decision I’ve got to make. We will decide on Friday but it will be difficult.
“David has done really well so I have to pick the right team to try to win the game.”
Hartley admitted that having built up momentum with the two wins, the international break came at the wrong time for his side.
However, confidence in the camp is high and the squad have trained hard this week working on what Hartley hopes will be a successful game plan against Mark Warburton’s side.
Hartley added: “When you win games then the training for that week is always good. The training over the last fortnight has been very good.
“The players have had a few days off and they have come back well. Maybe the international break came at the wrong time for us.
“We had two good results, two clean sheets but we know there’s a lot of hard work to be done. But we have got ourselves closer to everyone else.
“Rangers have a good group of players there. They are a good team and have a good manager.
“When you go to Ibrox, you know you are in for a difficult game but you have to go there with a game plan that will hopefully get you a positive result.
“The last couple of games have been excellent and we head there in confident mood. I felt our performance in both halves against Motherwell was very good.
“I’m pleased with how we are performing as a unit and how we have been keeping clean sheets.
“Sometimes you can be without the ball for spells and you have to work hard. Then you have to pass the ball well and make the right passes. We need to keep our shape without the ball and try to win it back.”
The last time Dundee travelled to Ibrox in March in the Scottish Cup they lost a goal with just seconds on the clock and ultimately were on the wrong end of a 4-0 hiding.
While Hartley admits his players cannot afford to give Rangers another early gift again tomorrow, he insists what happened in the cup has no bearing on this latest fixture.
He said: “We have to keep it tight. We didn’t give ourselves a chance that day. When you go into these kinds of venues you have to make sure you are nice and solid and that you stay in the game to give yourself a chance.
“We need to start the game well and hopefully we can do that.
“I won’t mention that last Rangers game though. It’s a different group of players, different personnel, but what I will be stressing to them is the need to go to Ibrox and start well.
“We need to start at a good tempo and make sure we are always in the game.”
Hartley will welcome back striker Faissal El Bakhtaoui into the squad after he recovered from injury but others are struggling.
The manager added: “Mark O’Hara has trained the last couple of days but he won’t be in the squad. He still needs a couple of bounce or reserve games first.
“Faissal El Bakhtaoui will be in the squad. James McPake’s done a couple of days of training but is still a good bit away. Nicky Low is struggling as is Yordi Teijsse.”
