Dundee boss James McPake says past allegiances are “irrelevant” when he’s working to improve his squad.
This week the Dens boss has welcomed former Dundee United midfielder Sam Stanton to train with the Dark Blues while current Tangerines winger Paul McMullan has emerged as a transfer target.
If there is a deal on the table for those two, they would join former Terror Osman Sow while both Fraser Fyvie and Billy King had trials with the Dark Blues last summer after leaving Tannadice.
McPake says Stanton worked “very well” on his first day yesterday but stopped short of saying whether the training was with a view to signing his ex-Hibs team-mate who recently left US side Phoenix Rising.
The two players actually made their Hibernian debuts on the same day – a 4-0 defeat at Rangers in January 2012, though they enjoyed very different afternoons.
The player’s history and affiliation with rivals Dundee United, though, don’t come into McPake’s thinking.
He said: “For me, the player is the important thing.
“I get the rivalry as I have been here long enough and this is my club now.
I have been at Dundee longer than any other club but if you can get good players like Sam Stanton, it is irrelevant where he played.
“I have known Sam since he was at Hibs and have followed his career.
“So he is in training with us and that’s where it is at the moment.”
He added: “Sam trained very well yesterday and is a player I know really well.
“I saw him coming through as a kid at Hibs.
“He made his debut the same day I did. It would have been great as a kid making his debut at Ibrox, although it wasn’t so good for me as I was sent off.
“I know him as a person and a player. I worked a lot with him at Hibs.
“Going to the States didn’t really work out the way he would have wanted because of Covid.
“So he is in training with us.”
McMullan link
The Dark Blues have also been linked with a move for United winger Paul McMullan.
The 24-year-old’s Tannadice deal ends this summer and can talk to other clubs regarding a pre-contract with less than six months of that remaining.
McPake, however, wouldn’t confirm if McMullan was a target.
“Paul is a player I have admired for a while but I don’t like talking about other club’s players,” he said.
“He is a player I saw a lot of when he was on loan at St Mirren and Dunfermline.
“So I have been aware of him for a while and obviously he had a great season last year.
“But as I said, he is another club’s player, so that’s all I can really say on that.”
McMullan has struggled for game time under new manager Micky Mellon, making just one league start this season.
A groin injury has hampered him and he revealed last month he was close to joining Ross County at the end of the transfer window.
He played a key role in the Tangerines winning the Championship last term under Robbie Neilson.
Injury news
Meanwhile, McPake’s squad numbers were boosted yesterday by the return to training of striker Jonathan Afolabi.
The Celtic loanee limped off against Hibs with a tight hamstring and wasn’t able to shake that off for the home match with Arbroath on Saturday.
He did, though, train yesterday as did goalkeeper Adam Legzdins who has missed the last two games with a calf complaint.