Kilmarnock manager Tommy Wright was not surprised or disrupted by Youssouf Mulumbu going AWOL ahead of their relegation play-off.
The midfielder disappeared ahead of the 2-1 first-leg defeat by Dundee and will not be in the squad for Monday night’s second leg.
The former Celtic and West Brom player has only started two Scottish Cup ties in the past three months and made a few late substitute appearances in the league.
Wright said: “He wouldn’t have played anyway. It doesn’t disappoint me because, having worked with him, it doesn’t disappoint me, it didn’t surprise me.
“The first we knew about it, the kit man flagged up that he had taken all his kit on Sunday.
“Then we get a text message to say that he had to go to France. We said no to that, wanted him in for a meeting, didn’t turn up, it was a text message on Friday.
“Something got out in the press which must have come from his end because it wasn’t factually true, there were no conversations.
“He might have been on the bench but I have got other players, a good young player who can come in and replace him if I have to, there were other players who weren’t in the squad that I can put in there as well.
“It has certainly not disrupted anything that we had planned to do.”
Wright has striker Nicke Kabamba back in training after a hamstring injury and is looking for his team to take advantage of the lifeline they received when Brandon Haunstrup pulled a goal back in the 77th minute at Dens Park.
“We know we can play better but it’s all right saying that, we have to go out and play better,” Wright said.
“There’s no point getting yourself back in the game and throwing that opportunity away by underperforming on Monday night because we are going to have to be at our best to get through.
“It’s good that we have another chance in a two-legged affair because we are disappointed in how we played on Thursday so I am expecting the players to be up for the game and put in a good performance. We have to grasp that lifeline of getting that goal back.
“We did some good things the other night, not enough.
“We had loads of possession but we didn’t move the ball quickly, we weren’t really brave enough in possession, we went long too many times.
“The conditions maybe made it a night you went slightly longer and that didn’t really suit us.”
