MOTHERWELL No.1 Darren Randolph has saluted the club's young stars for playing a key role in helping them climb to the SPL summit.

Injuries to key players like Simon Ramsden and Shaun Hutchinson saw the Fir Park side robbed of their first pick centre-back pairing only for rookie stoppers Jonathon Page, Adam Cummins and Fraser Kerr to step up to the mark.

There have also been some impressive contributions from Zaine Francis-Angol at left-back and teenage midfield duo Stuart Carswell and Steven Hetherington.

With the Well kids having picked up experience in the Champions League against Panathinaikos and also in the Europa League versus Levante, Randolph has no doubt the Steelmen will reap a rich reward for pitching their kids in to the first team.

And with a trip tomorrow to Dundee, the Fir Park keeper reckons boss Stuart McCall has a real selection dilemma as the club's experienced stars return from injury.

Rands, who earned his first cap for the Republic of Ireland against Oman on Tuesday, said: "The club have had to go with youth and none of the young lads have let us down.

"I think the great thing for us is that the experience they will have banked in the European games and in the SPL will accelerate their development.

"It is great for us that we have the likes of Stevie Hammell and Simon Ramsden back and because of how well the kids did the manager will have a bit of a headache when it comes to his selection. But I am sure that is a problem he will love to have.

"If you look back a couple of weeks ago when we were going to Valencia to play Levante we were looking very thin on the ground.

"We could have taken a hiding over there, but instead we were very unlucky not to get something and then we came back and turned Inverness over 4-1 before the international break.

"For me, the young lads who came in deserve an awful lot of the credit for making that happen."

Randolph's own form hasn't been too shabby either with the 25-year-old outstanding in Well's last SPL fixture against Inverness a fortnight back.

The last time the two sides met in league action on Tayside, it was Dundee who emerged victorious 2-1 back in February 2005 but Well claimed a comprehensive 4-0 win in the Scottish Cup fourth round in 2011.

Randolph is anticipating a more testing afternoon this time round with the hosts coming in to the game off the back of a 1-0 win at Hearts.

"That win at Tynecastle was a big win for Dundee and they have a big support who always turn out at Dens Park," he said.

"Going back to the cup game it was some atmosphere and fortunately we got an early goal and that helped keep them quiet.

"I think when you go away from home then it is always a huge plus if you can draw first blood and hopefully we can do so again tomorrow.

"But we have a very tough month ahead with another trip to Aberdeen in the SPL then a Scottish Communities League Cup tie at Rangers before Celtic come to our place.

"Taking something from Dundee has taken on even more significance for us. We have taken four points from a possible six on the road and are unbeaten. If it can stay that way by 5pm on Saturday, that will be a job well done."