Dundee boss Barry Smith has not given up on his bid to bring Gary Harkins back to Dens Park.

The Kilmarnock forward has been linked with a return on loan to his former club although mixed messages emerged from the Ayrshire club over the weekend, even though the player was again left out of the squad that went down 3-2 to Dundee United by boss Kenny Shiels on Saturday.

Coincidentally, Killie visit Dundee on Sunday but by that time Smith hopes Harkins, 28, will be back in dark blue.

"Everybody knows that we are speaking to Gary and we are hoping to move forward on that," he said. "Talks are on-going. I haven't spoken to Kenny since I spoke to him previous, so that's where we are at.

"We are talking with another couple that we would like to get in.

"There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes. It is not just a case of picking the phone up and speaking to someone.

"There is a lot of hard work done by the board and myself to make sure the right things are done."