Ross County manager Malky Mackay has hinted he could hand youth its chance in the final game of the season against Dundee United on Saturday.
The Staggies have only pride to play for, after their defeat to Rangers at Ibrox in midweek consigned them to sixth place.
It means County will miss out on a maiden European qualification, with United and Motherwell taking the final two available places.
Mackay recently tied a number of young players down on new deals, including Matthew Wright, Adam Mackinnon and goalkeepers Ross Munro and Logan Ross.
The Staggies boss says he may look to give the clubs fans a glimpse of the future.
He said: “We’ll have a look and see who merits a game on the day.
“We have a couple of the younger ones that could come in and be involved to get them in the strip in front of our fans and be involved in a Premiership game, because it’s important for the future of our club that we do that.”
Sims brought in for long-term gains
Another player who has yet to feature is winger Josh Sims, who joined in February following a series of health complications which began at previous club Southampton.
Mackay says Sims, who is signed until 2024, was brought in with next season in mind.
He added: “Josh has now been given the thumbs up by the surgeon, in terms of the final month’s worth of data.
“It shows his work out there, versus what’s on a piece of paper, that the doctor will look at before saying we can have him out there if we want.
“It’s about building him up to full fitness, and he has not played football for a long time. We are really looking at him as a next year signing.
“He’s now on the bench and, if there’s a possibility in any of the games that I think we can get him on for some minutes, we will do that.
“But it will not be to the detriment to what’s actually up at stake here.
“I was trying to get him on the bench a couple of weeks ago, which would not have been the correct thing to do from a medical approach. I was desperate to get him on the bench, but we just weren’t allowed to.
“We just need to be patient and allow the surgeon the chance to just sign him off for the longer-term.”
Staggies boss insists side will not be in holiday mode
Mackay insists he will not allow his players to down tools against Tam Courts’ United, who drew 1-1 with Celtic in midweek.
He added: “I wouldn’t put out a team that wanted to go on their holidays.
“They will go out there at the weekend and show real pride in front of their home fans.
“It’s our final home game for our fans, and we want to make sure that we go and do the club proud right until the last day.
“Our fans have been great all season, so I want to make sure they see progress on the pitch up until the last day.
“We go and try to win that game. It doesn’t mean anything in terms of the league, but in terms of pride and the people of Dingwall, they want to finish on a good note.”
