Dundee boss Paul Hartley has praised Jesse Curran after handing the midfielder his first start for the Dark Blues against Ross County on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Australian was given his opportunity after impressing the manager in training.
Hartley showed the faith he has in the player by the fact that he selected him ahead of more experienced midfielders Nick Ross and James Vincent who were on the bench.
Hartley said: “Young Jesse is knocking on the door now.
“He has been excellent in training and has not looked out of place.
“He did OK against Ross County. He has been doing well in the 20s and sometimes you have to throw them in and see what they’ve got.
“He did all right and he should be pleased with how he played.
“It wasn’t an easy game to come into and he was up against some tough opponents.
“At his age, we had to see if he could handle the occasion in terms of playing.
“So I am pleased with him.”
While Curran has played his way into first-team contention, Hartley is keen that other youngsters who are on the fringes of the squad should be experiencing “real” football rather than turning out for the Under-20s.
Calvin Colquhoun was sent out on loan to Dave Mackay’s Stirling Albion recently and played the full 90 minutes against Edinburgh City at the weekend.
And Hartley hopes the 20-year-old will benefit from his loan spell in the same fashion as a couple of other players who have followed a similar path.
He said: “Calvin needs to go and play. He’s at that age now where he is probably too old for the 20s, for me.
“He needs to go and play real football, to see if he can handle that step up.
“Dave watched him in one of the 20s games and liked what he saw.
“The guys that are 19, 20 or 21 have to be pushing to try to get into the team or going out and gaining some experience.
“We have already done that with Craig (Wighton) and Cammy (Kerr). They have had a couple of loan spells but they are mainstays of our team now.
“So I think it is important for our younger players to go and gain experience.
“They can’t keep playing for the Under-20s when they are 21 or 22. There is a time when you have to be ready to come into our first team.”
Meanwhile, Hartley revealed that Julen Etxabeguren missed the Ross County game after suffering a late injury in training.
He added: “Julen has a bad back. He pulled up on Friday and is struggling.
“Yordi Teijsse has an ankle knock but everybody else is OK.”
