Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon has warned his players no one’s place in his team can be taken for granted.
Ray has expressed his delight at the return to fitness over the past week of Lewis Toshney and Stewart Murdoch.
Both are seen as key men in the fight for promotion and showed that in their pre-injury performances.
But with virtually every member of his squad doing well, Ray believes all his players know they have to be at their best to be in the starting XI.
“With Tosher and Murdo back I’ve got a dilemma for this week. I also thought Blair Spittal was excellent when he returned to the starting line-up at Dunfermline last Saturday.
“That’s given me something to think about because, apart from Paul Dixon, everyone is back fit. It’s a good headache to have.
“It means everyone is going to have to fight for their place.
“The boys who’ve been out, either through injury or because they’ve been on the bench, and the ones in the team know that.”
Of those who came in at East End Park on Saturday, where eight changes were made to the line-up, Toshney looks most likely to be handed a starting place against Morton at Cappielow this weekend.
The question is where he’ll play.
While he regards himself as a centre-half, that’s the one position he hasn’t filled this season.
Most of his games to date for the Tangerines have been at right-back but he was in central midfield against the Pars and played there when he got injured against Hibs early last month.
With Frank van der Struijk doing well on the right of the defence and the partnership in the middle of William Edjenguele and Mark Durnan blossoming, midfield could be where he’s deployed.
“That’s the dilemma for me,” added the gaffer.
“Frank’s done great. He’s really got his fitness up and defensively he’s been excellent.
“He’s started getting forward a bit more in the last few games and he’s done well.”
That one absentee from the squad, Dixon, is continuing to make good progress with his strained knee ligament. But he will not be rushed back.
“He’s feeling great but I still think there’s some swelling and movement on his knee.
“We’re looking at him maybe for the start of December.”
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