GOODY LAYS IT ON THE LINE TO MCGINN FIGHT FOR YOUR PLACE
St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin has warned Stephen McGinn he won’t walk straight back into the starting lineup despite being club captain.
McGinn has missed the Buddies opening two games of the Premiership campaign having been sidelined through injury since the Betfred Cup group stages.
Sam Foley and Ryan Flynn have deputised in midfield and both have been in impressive form in the matches against Aberdeen and Hibs.
McGinn is bidding to be available for Sunday’s showdown clash against Rangers at the Simple Digital Arena.
But Goodwin admits that he may have to bide his time before being handed a starting berth.
He said: “I’ve been there myself when you’re the club captain and you’re normally used to being the first name on the teamsheet.
“But the team have been playing well. And I’m a very strong believer that if you’ve got the jersey then you keep it.
“That’s the way it needs to be regardless of who you are, even if you’re the most experienced player at the club.
“Stephen has been great since I came in. He’s been a really good captain and a good professional. It’s not a case of him saying, ‘I’m fit, put me back in the team.’ He knows that’s not how it works.
“You’ve got someone like Ryan Flynn who’s not renowned for getting stuck in but he does a job. He just uses his body well. We’ve got a good mix throughout the squad. If teams want to mix it physically with us we’ve shown we can do that now.
“Stephen has been back out running and working with the physio. He had a tight hamstring that became a wee strain but he should be fine.”
Goodwin has opted for a more settled squad in recent weeks, with new signings Ilkay Durmus, Sean McLoughlin and Jon Obika all forcing themselves into the starting XI.
And the Irishman says he won’t be switching things up unless he feels it will benefit the side.
He added: “If someone is in there and doing a job then I don’t make changes just for the sake of it.
“There will be games down the line when there won’t be that space in behind and we’ll use players in the forward areas that will be asked to perform a different role.”