Dundee have signed former Newcastle United youngster Alfie Harrison on a short-term deal until January, with the option of an extension, as injuries to Bobby Wales and Joe Westley deepen their squad crisis.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder impressed on trial, playing against Hearts last week and in training, prompting head coach Steven Pressley to bring him in to boost his options.
Pressley explains move
Pressley said: “We had a feeling that when the window closed, our business was complete, but due to unforeseen circumstances around injury, we’ve been forced back into the market.
“As a result of that, Alfie joined us on trial several weeks ago and has worked really hard. We think he’s a young player with great potential that can add competition to the squad, and we’re delighted to welcome Alfie on board.”
Harrison said he has been welcomed at Dens Park with open arms. He claimed: “From the first day I stepped into the building, it felt like the right atmosphere. It was somewhere I wanted to show what I’m about, and now hopefully I can push on and keep doing my thing.
“The way everyone has welcomed me, you can see the love for the club. I’d love to be here for a long period of time, but that’s down to me to show.”
Double injury blow
Strikers Wales and Westley have both suffered ankle injuries and are facing spells on the sidelines. Westley got injured in training, while Wales hurt his ankle scoring for Scotland under-21s in their win over Wales.
Pressley is waiting for scan results for both to determine the extent of the injuries. He confirmed: “Joe rolled his ankle in training this morning so will probably be scanned tomorrow if there’s not too much swelling. It’s not the same ankle he had a problem with before, but we’re just going to have to wait and see how he is.
“Bobby is due back from the U21s later on Wednesday so will be scanned then. He has significant swelling in his ankle. We should have an understanding of his condition by tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Mounting injury list
The injuries add to Dundee’s crippling list. Jack Moorhouse, Fin Robertson and captain Simon Murray are all out for the season with ACL injuries. Charlie Reilly and Ryan Finnigan are still not fit, and Zan Besir is suspended.
Despite those issues, Dundee sit in fourth place. Pressley said: “I’ve never known anything like this in my own experience in management. I’ve been at clubs before or around clubs where we’ve had an injury crisis, but I’ve never known it to happen to so many key and pivotal players at one time.
“We’ve more or less had a season’s worth of injuries in six or seven weeks. I had been talking about looking forward to having good strength in that area and went home last night thinking that’s what we’d have. But that’s changed now with what happened - and it’s seven players we have out now.
“Every one of them would consider themselves to be starters. Three strikers - Simon Murray, Bobby, Joe and then four midfielders - Jack Moorhouse, Ryan Finnigan, Charlie Reilly and Fin Robertson. Add in Zan Besir for this weekend because of his ban, that’s eight players we’re missing.”
Looking ahead
Pressley hopes to see progress on Finnigan and Reilly in the next week or so. He said: “The likes of Ryan and Charlie, it’s just taking time to get them where we need them to be. It’s a challenging period for us as a team and for the players themselves.
“We have been looking at how we could have done things differently but it’s difficult to see any patterns to it. It’s hard to be specific about the reasoning behind it.”
Dundee return against Falkirk, looking to strengthen their grip on fourth place. Pressley stated: “We won’t look for excuses but to be able to influence games becomes harder when you have such limited numbers.
“We are going to have to turn to some really inexperienced young players in the next few weeks. In some ways, that’s a good thing because we’re talking a lot in this country about giving players opportunities.
“You never know what shape or form opportunity comes, so it’s a chance for them to step up and show us what we can do. Will we have to recall players? We’ll be having those discussions in the next 24 hours. It’s important for them to be playing football, not just coming back to sit on the bench, so we’ll have to see what’s the most beneficial.
“We have good cover in the defensive area, but it’s more the middle to front part of the team we’re lacking.”
