It’s battle stations for Buddies
The Staggies pose a threat
Jim Goodwin admits he’s concerned about a confident Staggies side sending St Mirren’s drive towards a top six spot seriously off course.
The Buddies head into today’s clash on the back of four successive draws, while John Hughes’ relegation-battling Ross County arrive in Paisley buoyed by a significant win over Celtic.
With just three games left before the split, the Saints are still in the driving seat for a historic top half finish with a two and three point advantage over their nearest pursuers Dundee United and St Johnstone respectively.
Goodwin is targeting two wins from their remaining matches to get the job done, and with a daunting trip to Ibrox up next Saturday he knows returning to winning ways against the Staggies could be crucial to staying in the top six. “Th e y ’ l l hav e taken g re at confidence from beating Celtic,” he said. “The atmosphere up in Dingwall this week after a result like that would have been great. “Ross Laidlaw made a couple of good saves and they’ve managed to get their body on the line for a
couple of shots too.
“They made it very difficult for Celtic to break them down and we expect something similar in Paisley.
“I think they’ll be coming here believing they’ll get something from the game.
“It wouldn’t suit them to come here and sit in against us because I think John Hughes will be wanting to take us on and go for all three points.
“I’m going with a very offensive team, one I believe can cause them serious problems.”
While the Buddies have navigated a gruelling spell of fixtures, Goodwin is demanding his side dig deep for the cause once again this afternoon.
And he’s delighted he has two key midfielders back for their pivotal next three games, with Jamie McGrath and Jake-Doyle Hayes both returning to action from injury earlier than expected.
Goodwin said: “On Wednesday, without looking for too many excuses, I think there’s a lot of tired legs and minds out there.
Sometimes you can’t always play the pass you can see and want to play.
“I’m not going to be too hard on the players. I am a demanding manager, there’s no let up in training. This will be the eleventh game in 30-odd days. It would be very easy to come off the game and try and let the boys rest a wee bit, but that’s not the mindset I want.
“I want us to get in the face of Ross County. Press them high up the pitch and when we have the ball move it nice and quickly. Since Jake came to the club he’s not lost many games in a black and white jersey and has been very influential in a lot of the good football. He’s very brave on the ball and will take it in tight areas.
“McGrath is a huge player for us. He does both sides of the game really well. For someone who’s not naturally the most physical in terms of aggression and getting in peoples’ faces, he does that really well. “The most important thing with Jamie is his quality on the ball.”