Goodwin granted Pittodrie stay of execution
JIM GOODWIN will remain as Aberdeen manager despite the “disastrous” Scottish Cup exit to Darvel.
The Pittodrie boss was given a vote of confidence by Dave Cormack but was warned there is an expectation of an “immediate response” from the boardroom.
Goodwin’s position as manager came under further scrutiny after Monday night’s Scottish Cup defeat to Darvel – who are 56 spots below Aberdeen in the SPFL pyramid.
The Pittodrie manager had already endured a torrid run of form with just one win in the last nine outings before the “humiliating” defeat to minnows Darvel.
The board met yesterday afternoon to discuss the situation and had a
“full and frank meeting with Jim”.
Goodwin was backed by the board to continue in his post ahead of the weekend trip to Easter Road to take on Hibs – with Lee Johnson also under pressure.
But, chairman Cormack warned there must be an immediate improvement from Goodwin’s side.
A statement from Cormack ( inset) read: “We all recognise that Monday’s disastrous result in the Scottish Cup was totally unacceptable. It added insult to injury after such a poor result against Hearts, following what was a strong performance in the semifinal against Rangers at Hampden.
“The football monitoring board, comprising Stewart Milne, Willie Garner, Steven Gunn and me, have now had a full and frank meeting with Jim.
“It wasn’t an easy conversation, but necessary after the overall poor results since the World Cup break.
“From our wider discussions over the last two days, we believe that the senior players and the squad are behind the manager.
“Combined with our discussions at today’s meeting, Jim will be in the dug- out on Saturday. However, to be clear, Jim has been left in no doubt that the Board and the fans are seeking an immediate response from him and the players.”
Meanwhile, Aberdeen’s 1990 Scottish Cup- winning hero Brian Irvine has warned the Dons players they have a lot of making up to do with their irate supporters after their Darvel humiliation.
The 58- year- old scored the decisive penalty in a shootout against Celtic when the Reds last won the old trophy 33 years ago, but he also experienced cup woe when he was on the bench as the Pittodrie side crashed out at the hands of third- tier Stenhousemuir five years later.
Irvine believes Aberdeen – who lost 1- 0 to Darvel – must now put all their focus on chasing down a thirdplaced Hearts side who have bounced back emphatically from their own Scottish Cup upset away to Highland League Brora Rangers two years ago.
“I don’t want to seem like an old has- been saying this and that, but from my own experience, when we had that bad Stenhousemuir result, we were in a bad position in the league at the time,” Irvine said. “Aberdeen have slipped from third
[ at the World Cup break] to fifth just now so they’re not in as bad a position as we were in 1995. But after the cup tie, we got on a good run in the league and got the fans behind us and galvanised everyone before we survived the play- off against Dunfermline.
“That was the positive out of that negative and Aberdeen have to try and find a way to do something similar this season. The season has to go on. They’re out the two cups now but they’ve still got to try and finish as high up the table as they can. If they could possibly get into third place, that would give the fans something to celebrate.
“Nine points is a big gap but that’s something they’ve got to aim for. As an Aberdeen fan, it feels like the season’s over but there is something still to play for. It’s about how the players handle this situation. Hearts kicked on and did well after they lost to Brora and that’s what’s got to happen at Aberdeen. Are you going to make a positive out of it or is it going to be further negative?”
Irvine is surprised at how rapidly things have unravelled for Goodwin and the Dons after they won six of their nine games in the lead- up to the World Cup break.
“It’s a strange situation because before the World Cup break, they were in a good position, third in the league and semi- final of the League Cup,” he said. “The home form was good although the away form was iffy but the report card was generally pretty positive. So it’s a dramatic change to have only one win in the nine games since the World Cup.”