Dundee United boss Peter Houston has warned his players to be wary of the new manager effect when they face Dunfermline on Saturday.
United face a Pars side who are rooted to the foot of the SPL but reinvigorated by the appointment of Jim Jefferies last week.
And Houston has warned that his former Hearts colleague will have his players fired up to present United with their toughest test in weeks.
He said: ”I have a lot of respect for Jim Jefferies. He took me to Hearts as youth coach and then the reserves so we know each other very well.”
He added: ”In many ways, I think the Dunfermline game will be the most difficult one we’ve faced lately. There is an expectation on us because of the run we’re on and Jim will like that. He will use that to motivate his players and get them fired up for coming to Tannadice.
”So it is going to be a very hard game and we will need to show the same level of application and good attitude we have been doing.”
St Johnstone’s win over Inverness on Wednesday night saw the Perth outfit leapfrog United into fourth place in the league, but Houston insists he won’t be wasting much time worrying about what others are doing.
He said: ”St Johnstone are the favourites to get fourth place because they are three points ahead of us. They went to Inverness and won the other night, which is a great result. They have a very good squad of experienced players so we will just have to focus on winning our games and see where it takes us.”
United are likely to be without defender Keith Watson but skipper Jon Daly is expected to play despite having stitches in a head wound.
Houston said: ”Keith is a big doubt for Saturday because he’s a bit sore. Jon will be fine. His face is a mess but being the type of boy he is, he’ll want to play so I expect him to be there.”
Houston has also confirmed that loan striker Milos Lacny is unlikely to play for the club again.
The Sparta Prague striker will have an operation in the next 48 hours to repair the cruciate ligament he tore in a freak training ground incident last week. Scans have shown he will probably be out for eight months, which will take him to the end of the year-long deal he signed in January.
United say they will honour the contract, even though that will impact on Houston’s budget for next season.
The manager said his thoughts are with the Slovak (23) as he prepares to undergo surgery.
Houston said: ”Milos will be having an operation over the weekend and it looks like he’ll be out until the end of the year. It’s a huge shame for the boy because he has come over here looking to do well for us. But the injury was just one of those unlucky ones and now he’ll have to focus on getting back playing again.”
He added: ”It doesn’t look good for his future as a United player but we will honour the contract because that’s the right thing to do.
”Milos was very keen to impress, I had to say to him a few times that he needed to calm it down a bit because he was trying too hard.
”But that wasn’t a criticism it showed how desperate he was to prove to everyone what a good player he is.”