Dundee wait on international clearance for Darren O'Dea

The Dark Blues had been hoping to unleash former Celtic defender O’Dea in Saturday’s scheduled fourth-round tie with the Bairns which was wiped out because of a waterlogged pitch and again in tonight’s rearranged clash which has also been postponed until 26 January.

Now they require the necessary paperwork to give 20-times capped Republic of Ireland star O’Dea his first start since signing late last week from Indian outfit Mumbai City, as a direct replacement for skipper James McPake who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Dens boss Paul Hartley said: “The international clearance hadn’t arrived so we couldn’t have played Darren [on Saturday]. He hasn’t played in a few weeks but is keen to play so we’ll assess everything.”

O’Dea’s arrival is to offset the loss of McPake who fractured his knee in the 2-1 league win over city rivals Dundee United on 2 January.

Hartley admits the 28-year-old Dubliner could yet be followed by some more January signings.

He said: “We are definitely looking at targets. If possible, we are looking to bring in one or two more.”