BEN RAMAGE
Jim Goodwin insists his new warriorlike backline gave him his most comfortable dugout experience yet.
The Buddies had their backs to the wall for spells during their 1-0 opening day win over Livingston.
Despite handing debuts to goalkeeper Jak Alnwick and three of his four defenders, Goodwin felt his new rearguard dealt easily with the physical threat posed by the visiting Lions.
And he is looking forward to seeing them develop as a unit in the months ahead after a successful start to their life in the stripes.
Goodwin told Express Sport: “It’s the most comfortable I think I’ve felt throughout my short managerial career on the sidelines when balls were going in the box.
“It probably wasn’t the prettiest game in the world. Livi don’t let you get the ball down.
“We had to stand up and be counted and every player out there put in a shift for the team. Defensively we looked fantastic and we’ll improve on the attacking front.
“We knew going into the last 15 or 20 minutes if the score stayed 1- 0 they would chuck everything at us and they did. Alnwick made some great decisions. Joe Shaughnessy and Conor McCarthy were excellent, Joe in particular the ball was like a magnet to him.
“If you pick your man of the match you’d say that Joe just shades it.
“Then there was Marcus Fraser and Richard Tait in the full-back positions too.
“I’ve got four real warriors at the back who enjoy defending and Sam Foley in there in front of them who’s very disciplined as well.”
Much of the pre- match focus ahead of Saturday was on Livingston star striker Lyndon Dykes, who is drawing admiring glances from several clubs after a stellar campaign last time out.
Goodwin believes the way his side kept him quiet is testament to their defensive performance as a unit.
He said: “I really like Dykes, he’s a really good player and the fact Livi want over a £1 million for him shows even more how my two centre halves did.
“They kept him very quiet. I don’t remember him having many chances to score.”
Goodwin knows he’ll be relying heavily on his defence again in the Saints next two fixtures.
First up is a trip to Ibrox on Sunday to take on Rangers, before the visit of Celtic to Paisley the following Wednesday.
He believes the three points bagged against Livingston can give them confidence heading into the difficult clashes.
He said: “If you go into the next two games on the back of a defeat it can be demoralising.
“We’re not going to chuck the towel in before a ball is kicked.
“If we get the shape right and make life difficult for them then we give ourselves a chance.”