SCHOOL’S BEFORE FOOTBALL
Injury-hit boss insists Dylan misses trip north
Jim Goodwin insists education must come first – even in the midst of an injury crisis.
The Buddies squad has been gutted by injuries ahead of a tough trip north to Dingwall to take on Ross County tomorrow night. While he has been robbed of the services of several key players with various knocks and strains, he’s also without young prospect Dylan Reid who has had to return to school for the next fortnight ahead of important exams.
St Mirren boss Goodwin believes it’s absolutely right the 16-year-old has swapped the training pitch at Ralston for the classroom, despite the fact it’s leaving him with one less option for tomorrow’s Premiership clash with the Staggies.
“It’s a horrendous situation we’re in,” he t o l d E x p re s s Spo r t . “We’re really struggling for bodies for the Ross County game.
“Ethan Erhahon has a hamstring strain. Ryan Flynn is out. Jake Doyle-Hayes and Marcus Fraser will miss out. Jon Obika felt his groin after the Inverness game too so he won’t be available either.
“Collin Quaner and Brophy are obviously just making their way back and we might need to rush one of them back into the squad.
“We’ll be travelling with about 13 or 14 outfield players, which is far from ideal.
“Dylan Reid has to go back to school so he’s not allowed to travel or train for the next two weeks.
“He’s got exams coming up. This is an important year for him. His education is very important. It’s something we want to encourage all the lads to do. I look at sport in America and education is huge.
“We don’t probably put a big enough emphasis on it in this country. There’s too many players aged from 15 to 20 who get let go and they’re into the big bad world with nothing behind them.
“We want to encourage him to finish his exams. He’s a bright boy and it’s important for him to get the results.
“I’m sure he’d rather be in here training and playing and being part of the squad going to Dingwall, because there’s a good chance he’d have been getting minutes due to the injury problems we have.
“But it’s education first at the moment.”
While Goodwin is still targeting a seventh place Premiership finish, he admits the prospect of reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup is currently his top priority.
With a crunch quarter-final clash with Kilmarnock now scheduled for Monday, the Saints boss revealed he won’t risk any player who could yet play a part at Rugby Park next week. He said: “Marcus has hurt his ankle and is away for a scan. We are not overly concerned, the physio thinks if we get good work into it this week he might be okay for Monday.
“Doyle- Hayes has a hip flexer problem. That’s why he went off early in the game. Obika was feeling his groin and that’s what kept him out against Motherwell. It looks as if he could be out for a fortnight.
“There’s six or seven important squad members that aren’t going to be available, but it ’ s an opportunity for one or two of the other lads who haven’t played as much as they’d like. Hopefully we’ll have enough left to get the job done.
“The Scottish Cup is our priority just now. That’s why the players I’ve mentioned that are struggling won’t be risked on Wednesday.
“We need to at least have a couple of them available for Monday night against Killie.
“I’m delighted the game’s been pushed back to Monday as it gives those boys a couple of extra days to recover.”