KILMARNOCK will have two fresh faces in their ranks ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Dundee United at Rugby Park.

Hibernian’s 20-year-old playmaker Dylan Tait, signed from Raith Rovers last summer and then loaned back to them for the first half of this season, has agreed to move to Ayrshire until May and it’s understood that former Rangers and Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty will follow suit today.

Lafferty spent the final three months of last season with Killie but his impressive return of 13 goals from 12 starts was not enough to keep Tommy Wright’s side in the Premiership. He was offered a long-term deal then but chose to move to Cyprus and sign for Anorthosis Famagusta instead.

Manager Derek McInnes revealed that he has been keeping tabs on Tait for some time.

“He’s someone who will take the ball, take responsibility and, technically, he handles the ball well,” he said. “He has a wee bit of an edge to him.

“Dylan is someone I knew a lot about during my time at Aberdeen when I was keeping an eye on some of the ones coming through in the Championship [with Raith Rovers]. He was one of them.

“It was no surprise to me that he got his move to Hibs and I’m grateful to Shaun Maloney and glad that they see this as a good step for him, somewhere he can go and get valuable game time right under their noses.”

McInnes is optimistic about eliminating a United team which has lost each of their last six matches.

“Getting back to the Premiership is the main challenge but we know that there are so many benefits to be had by having a good cup run; the feel-good factor, the financial rewards and the confidence from beating a team like United," he added.

“There are loads of aspects where having a good cup run will help us and I think it’s a game that’s there to be won: we feel we can win it.

“And while a Championship team beating one from the Premiership might be seen as an upset to some, we wouldn't see it that way.”