Peterhead manager Jim McInally views tonight’s friendly with Dundee as vital preparation for their opening game of the season.
The Blue Toon take on Dee’s city rivals Dundee United in the League Cup group stage a week on Saturday.
Facing Premiership opposition in their first competitive outing of the campaign will be a difficult assignment for the Buchan outfit.
But McInally believes this evening’s fixture against Dundee at Dens Park can lay the foundations for a good performance against United.
The Balmoor boss said: “With the Dundee United game in mind I want to play part of the game in a shape that we’ll need to play against United.
“The game we’re playing this Saturday (against Junior club Dundee North End), we’ll probably have more of the ball and won’t be able to do that the same.
“But playing against the likes of Charlie Adam, Graham Dorrans and Paul McGowan, we will have to chase the ball at times.
“In normal circumstances in the League Cup we’d be a bit more open, but with it being our first game and them having been playing for two months, it would be folly to do that.
“So it’s about working on shape, organisation and discipline and the players knowing what is expected of them.
“There’s no doubt we need to work on being hard to play through and things like that ahead of the Dundee United game.
“Even if it doesn’t fall into place right away, you need to work at it and work on the problems.
“In our friendly on Saturday (against Inverurie Locos) playing three at the back for a spell I saw things that were wrong, but when you put the players into something new you can’t just expect it to work like clockwork straightaway, you need to work at it.”
