Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon admits he would have liked to emulate what his Hibs counterpart Neil Lennon has done recently by drafting in two high-calibre new players.
However, he insists the squad he already has at his disposal is of sufficient high quality to match the Edinburgh side when they clash tonight at Easter Road.
The mouth-watering top-of-the-table meeting in the capital is heading close to a sell-out with the home side looking to consolidate their position at the Championship summit while United are determined to knock them off their perch.
Hibs will go into the game boosted by the recent additions of former Motherwell winger Chris Humphrey and on-loan Celtic star Kris Commons.
While McKinnon admits he does not possess the financial muscle to contemplate making moves for those sorts of acquisitions, he firmly believes his current squad can do more than compete when they travel to Leith.
The Tannadice boss said: “Well done to Hibs. They have made a statement.
“Seriously, if I could do it right now I would do the same thing.
“I think Neil’s done the right thing by making two good signings just there.
“They’ve got a very good player in Commons who is quality and the boy Humphrey is a right good winger with real pace.
“They are good signings to add to an already very good squad.
“From our own point of view, we’ll try and strengthen as well.
“We’ll try and do something ourselves in the transfer window but we’ll need to be a wee bit more selective.
“We are working hard on it but there will be nothing done in time for Friday’s game at Hibs.
“There’s a lot of money involved and we can’t afford some of the asking prices. It’s just ridiculous.
“Again, we’ll just need to work within our means and see what we can afford.
“We’re not going to bring anyone in just for the sake of it.
“It’s got to be the right type who fits into that group.
“At the end of the day, you can only play 11 at a time and we’ve got a decent 11.
“We’ll certainly be able to put 11 quality players on the field to match their 11. That’s the important thing.”
When asked if the new additions to the Hibs squad were a sign that they are panicking having United breathing down their necks, McKinnon replied: “I don’t think it shows they’re rattled one bit.
“I just think it’s good management from Neil.
“He recognises that he wants to strengthen and have as strong a squad as possible.
“Again, if I was in a position to do that I would do likewise.
“I think any manager would do that. It’s just smart management.”
McKinnon insisted that Hibs are still favourites for the title because of the size of the club they are.
However, he also maintains the fact his side are just one point behind the Edinburgh outfit at this stage of the season speaks volumes about how far they have come as a squad.
McKinnon added: “We knew we’d be underdogs this season.
“Listen, they’ve got a really strong squad and they’ve added good quality to it.
“They’re a big club and there’s going to be around 20,000 at this game which is outstanding.
“They’re massive and rightly so they’ve been made favourites. That’s just fact.
“But I think it says a lot about our squad and how hard they’ve worked that we’re only one point behind them at this stage of the season.
“I’m really looking forward to the game.
“It’s an opportunity for us. We want to seize it because if we win we’ll go two points clear.
“If we don’t, we’ll just keep going right until the end of the season and see where we end up.”
United’s recent 14-game unbeaten run came to a halt at Dumbarton on Saturday with Hibs taking advantage by beating Falkirk to move top once again.
However, McKinnon is refusing to read too much into that result at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.
He added: “The conditions in Dumbarton were beyond a joke.
“The wind and the rain meant you couldn’t read into anything.
“If you take that ridiculous game out of the equation, then we’ve won 11 games and drawn 3.
“So we go into this game in good fettle.
“We’ve got a good squad and if we can go down there and get a result we’ll be delighted.”
