New Queen of the South manager James Fowler didn’t hang about after being confirmed this week as Jim McIntyre’s replacement – as soon as his press conference was over he was away to look at a player.
The Doonhamers host Championship leaders Hearts this weekend and have already beaten Hibernian in Dumfries, although they lost 2-1 at Cowdenbeath last week.
Fowler, who had been in caretaker charge for the past three games, said: “We were able to add Greg Kiltie on loan from Kilmarnock. Greg is a good young player who can play wide or in the number 10 role.
“I worked with him for a couple of years at Kilmarnock and I watched him on Tuesday against Hearts in an U20 game as soon as my press conference was over. I know Allan Johnston was keen to get Greg game time so it is a win-win situation.”
Kiltie could start against Hearts, who are six points clear at the top, as Danny Carmichael is an injury doubt, with Fowler saying: “Danny looks set to miss out again which is disappointing. We thought he would be back in full training earlier this week however he is still touch and go.”
Also missing for fourth-placed Queen of the South, who are unbeaten at home in the Championship, are Mark Durnan, Chris Mitchell, Paul Burns, Stephen McKenna and Michael Paton.
The 33-year-old added: “It has been non-stop since I took over and adding Mark to that list is disappointing. I am getting to the stage that when I receive a text from the physio I do not want to open it!
“Our plans have needed to change as a result of Mark’s injury and we could be a bit short of central defenders as Chris Higgins is carrying a knock as well.
“If he does not make it Andy Dowie will have to play there himself. Either that or we will try some crazy formation and just attack Hearts all the time!
“It is not ideal as our injured players are all experienced professionals. If you have too many of these guys missing it is a big ask to throw youngsters in against a team in such good form.
“Hearts scored two late goals to round off their 5-0 win over Livingston so they will be full of confidence. I watched the game and they were very impressive. They have a strong squad and even the players coming off the bench were boys who played the majority of their games in the Premiership last season.
“They added well in the summer with guys like Prince Buaben and Morgaro Gomis so Robbie Neilson has a very strong squad at his disposal and you would expect that from a club the size of Hearts.
“They will be desperate to get straight back up to the top flight and have made a great start in doing that. They deserve to be where they are but we will be out to give them a game.
“This is my first official home game in charge and I am looking for us to get off to a good start. It does not get much harder than the league leaders but we are looking to make amends for losing to Cowdenbeath last weekend.
“That was disappointing and, in a way, it helps having Hearts as the game lifts the players. The start of the game killed us last Saturday and we were two down at half-time. We cannot start as slowly this week or the same thing could happen. We have to match up from the first whistle.”
Craig Stewart
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