United were growing in confidence today that former Scotland Under-21 star Jim Lauchlan would be their player before the day was out. Manager Alex Smith confirmed first thing that the Kilmarnock defender was the player he has been trying to get since the tail-end of last week. The 23-year-old was expected at Tannadice for signing talks, a medical and to put pen to paper on a two-year contract. "He is travelling up and we have more or less agreed a fee for him, so we are very hopeful that a deal will be concluded in the next few hours," said Alex.

United will not be revealing how much they will be paying - although the Glaswegian is out of contract at Rugby Park, his age means Killie are entitled to compensation. Alex was happy, though, to speak about a player he has rated highly for some time now, and believes will do an excellent job for the Tangerines. "I know Jim well and, in fact, he won all his Under-21 caps under me. He is a good defender, very strong and a good organiser on the park. He is still young, so we can look forward to getting the best out of him over the next few years." Having declined to re-sign for Kilmarnock, Lauchlan has not tasted SPL action this season, but he has been training at Rugby Park and also had a couple of games during a short spell with English First Division outfit Barnsley.

While his imminent arrival comes at a time when United are still looking for their first league win in this campaign, the squad have at least been boosted by a better display in the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday. "In the end it was a defeat and defeats are always unacceptable to us, but the performance was more like what we would expect. It has given us something to build on, and we must make the most of that," said the boss.

Tonight, the Under-21s face Celtic at Tannadice (7 pm). ©Evening Telegraph