GARY TEALE, the caretaker St Mirren manager, says that only a "ridiculous amount of money" will prise John McGinn from the club next month.

The talented midfielder, whose contract is set to expire in the summer, is said to be the subject of interest from a number of clubs, including Celtic and Bolton Wanderers. A bid last summer for the 20 year-old from Sheffield United was rejected by the St Mirren board and labelled "derisory" although, with McGinn unlikely to sign an extension to his contract given the terms on offer, they might choose to cash in on him now, rather than lose him for only a development fee in the summer.

Scott Brown, the Celtic midfielder, is thought to be an admirer of McGinn's and the chance to play alongside the Scotland captain at the club he grew up supporting is something that would probably be appealing to McGinn. Teale, though, is confident of holding on to the Scotland under-21 cap for the time being.

"I would hope he doesn't leave as he's an integral part of our squad," said the former Scotland winger. "Losing one of our biggest players isn't going to help us in the position we are in. I wouldn't think he'll be leaving, to be honest. If someone comes in and offers a ridiculous amount of money in January then the club might look at it. But in the position we're in you're going to need your better players. I would doubt he'd leave as his departure may hurt the club's ambitions for staying in the league."

Tomorrow's match away to Dundee is Teale's third in temporary charge. A decision on a permanent appointment is still thought to be some way away - the directors are to meet again next week following an initial gathering to sift through applications for the post on Monday - and the Argentinian consortium reportedly interested in buying the club headed home without having made a bid. So a decision on Tommy Craig's successor is unlikely to happen until that matter is resolved. Teale, though, hopes some sort of transparency can be achieved soon, with the transfer window about to re-open and the squad badly needing overhauled to try to get off the foot of the SPFL Premiership table.

"We need clarity as it would help the club as a whole," he added. "It would provide stability and allow us to be proactive rather than reactive. I have been speaking to players and putting things in place. I have targets which I would like to go ahead with but I haven't had the nod to go ahead and do it.

"I have identified areas where I believe we can improve on but I can't speak to anyone until I'm told I can go and make things happen. There are plans in place but club may have other aspirations to go with someone else so I can only do what I can do.

"We are not in a position where we can buy players so it's probably loan deals and it's about using my contacts from down south."

St Mirren will be without Steven Thompson for their next two games after choosing not to appeal the red card their captain received against Motherwell last week. Teale was adamant Thompson had been harshly dealt with but television pictures that would have aided their appeal were not clear.

"I thought about appealing but I let it digest and came to the conclusion they wouldn't overturn it. My initial reaction was that it was 50-50 and the TV pictures were inconclusive."

Paul Hartley, the Dundee manager, has challenged winger Phil Roberts to become a main man for the club again as they head into the festive period.

The 20-year-old made his long-awaited comeback by coming off the bench in last weekend's 1-1 draw away to Partick Thistle when his injury-time strike was deflected home to earn a share of the spoils at Firhill.

Roberts, signed in the summer, made a bright start to his Dens Park career earlier this season before succumbing to injury. Now the manager wants Roberts, who won a call-up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad not long ago, to play a starring role.

"Phil has got all the ability in the world," said Hartley. "He's only 20 so is still learning the game. If we can get his focus channeled in the right manner then we think we've got a really good player on our hands."

Dundee hope to welcome back playmaker Paul McGowan to face his former club St Mirren this weekend. He has been out for almost a month after suffering a knee injury just before their last-gasp Scottish Cup win over Aberdeen at Dens Park in November.

Hartley said: "We've missed McGowan: his energy, drive and determination. The wee man is rarely injured and rarely misses a training session. Just to have him around the squad is terrific. His energy about the place is different class."