After being held to a draw by Aberdeen Neil Lennon commented on his players being leggy and the emotional toll caused by a change of manager.
Adrenaline helped the side through two demanding trips to Edinburgh but undoubtedly the toll of injuries had an impact on the result and performance against Aberdeen.
Between Olivier Ntcham, Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and Ryan Christie you have a full range of midfield options- all currently denied to Lennon.
Only McGregor is in contention to face Dundee on Sunday and while Jim McIntyre’s side are struggling at the bottom of the table they are capable of frustrating and taking a point from the visit of the champions.
One option that Lennon is bound to consider this week is Scott Allan, the player he got on a pre-contract agreement for Hibs just before parting company with the Edinburgh side.
Allan has played in Celtic’s last three Reserve League games and is likely to play against Hearts tomorrow with his manager watching from the stand.
You won’t get the levels of industry that Christie and McGregor routinely provide from Allan but he is very capable of picking out the defence breaking pass.
Dens Park is a great venue for real footballers, the surface is usually good with space on the flanks to exploit.
If it’s not happening next week for Nir Bitton or Ewan Henderson then Allan is the player capable of providing the X-Factor for the forward players to exploit.
On Friday Lennon mentioned watching Marvin Compper and Allan in the reserves against Dundee, it seems that the Hibs bound midfielder is a more likely first team contender than the mystery man from RB Leipzig.