REGARDLESS of what happens in the boardrooms of Scottish football, this will be a summer of flux for many of the country's top-flight clubs.

The ongoing financial uncertainty surrounding a league as yet without a title sponsor will only exacerbate swingeing budget cuts and make the continued talent drain of players to the lower divisions of the English game even sairer to bear for suffering supporters.

Both Motherwell and Dundee United are prime for picking, given their squads are ripe with talented youngsters and players whose contracts are coming to an end, so fans of both clubs should perhaps cherish the final five games of the campaign.

For the Fir Park side, in particular, those games will mark the end of an area as a settled, established team begins to break up. Tom Hateley, Simon Ramsden, Nicky Law, Chris Humphrey, Michael Higdon, James McFadden and Darren Randolph will all be free agents in the summer and, while some will stay, Stuart McCall has already conceded others will make their final few appearances.

Indeed, only yesterday the Motherwell manager admitted that there is only a "slim possibility" Randolph will be his first-choice goalkeeper next season. The 25-year-old Irishman has been a terrific performer in his three years in Lanarkshire but is expected to return south to enhance his international ambitions. "I would be absolutely delighted if we managed to keep Darren but I think it is a slim possibility," McCall said. "There is a strong possibility that Darren will move on.

"Darren has been outstanding for us and if I was managing in the Championship now I would go for him straight away – and that's not me trying to off-load him. I have been surprised we have not had offers for him over the 18 months. He is not only an outstanding goalkeeper, he is a really good guy, he is composed, he gets about his job, never lets us down; you would think I am his agent but I would be extremely surprised if he didn't have very good options."

Asked about reports claiming Motherwell were considering Craig Samson of St Mirren as a replacement, McCall said: "We will be looking for someone to vie with Lee Hollis. I don't know where this Samson thing came from. He is a good goalkeeper but I have had no contact with anyone regarding him."

For his part, Randolph is remaining coy about his plans. When it was suggested to him yesterday that he would be leaving, the goalkeeper said: "Am I? We have another five games and I am the same as the other players out of contract. Wherever it, is I want to play. So wherever I can do that I will be there. If we could keep the core of the team I suppose it will make it easier to decide."

Given that Motherwell are a team on course for consecutive top-three finishes, his assessment carries some weight. Victory at Tannadice this evening would not only prolong the putative title race for another couple of days but also bolster their hopes of securing continental competition for next season. However, that is something United still harbour hopes of themselves.

Seven points adrift of third-placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle with 15 points to play for, Jackie McNamara's side have made play of their ambitions to overhaul that advantage but really must win tonight if it is to become a reality. "At times I feared we would never get in the position to challenge for the Europa League because we've dropped a lot of points this season," admitted Gary Mackay-Steven. "Now that we are in the top six, qualifying for Europe has become the next massive incentive for us to push on. It would mean that we could say this season had been a real success and we feel we are capable of doing it."

First, though, United must recover from both the physical and mental exertions of Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Celtic. However, rather than be despondent, Mackay-Steven believes that 4-3 extra-time loss proves McNamara's young side have a bright future. "That shows how far we have come under the new gaffer," he said. "We all believe in ourselves and the manager has drilled it in to us that we need to express ourselves all the time and get on the ball. I thought we did that on Sunday and it bodes well for the future with the young boys coming in, so overall things are positive."