MY MINI ME
St Mirren boss Goodwin says new signing Sheron is a midfield enforcer in his own image
ST MIRREN boss Jim Goodwin can see similarities between himself and new signing Nathan Sheron — a tough-tackling midfielder who opponents will ‘hate playing against’.
The former Liverpool youth star has signed a season-long loan from Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town as Goodwin continues to add to his squad ahead of the new campaign.
Sheron, 22, will help fill the gap left by departed captain Stephen McGinn and his new manager believes he will also add the steel that was missing from his midfield last year.
‘Nathan is well aware of why I brought him to the club,’ said the Irishman. ‘I need someone to get in the faces of the opposition, to make tackles, win headers and do the basics well.
‘He’s pretty similar to myself as a player. I had that conversation with him.
‘Hopefully, I can help him learn from the mistakes I made. But he’s a far better footballer than I was. Technically, he’s very good on the ball. You’ve got to be to come through the Liverpool academy.
‘We’ve got a number of good midfielders in the group but I felt last year we were lacking a physical presence in there. Somebody who could do the simple things, break things up and be aggressive.
‘The opposition will hate playing against him as he loves a tackle. And our fans will love watching him. I reckon they’ll take to him instantly.
‘The St Mirren fans love players who give their all for the jersey and that’s something Nathan will do. I’m really excited to be bringing him to the club.
‘We’ve lost Stephen McGinn who was really influential when he played. And Nathan plays that role really well and is an ideal replacement.
‘Nathan is coming to us as a holding midfielder but he can play at centre-half and he has played at right-back in the past also.
‘He can sit in front of the back four, break things up and be difficult for the opposition to play against.
‘He’s got great legs, he’s got great energy and I think the supporters will love what they see.
‘Nathan’s a great addition and hopefully there will be another couple more to come after that in the not too distant future.’
Sheron becomes Saints’ third signing of the summer, following Richard Tait and Jak Alnwick to Paisley, while former St Johnstone and Aberdeen defender Joe Shaughnessy is also weighing up a move.
And Goodwin stressed the importance of doing transfer business early after leaving it late last year.
‘We identified six main targets back in January, six positions we needed to fill,’ he added. ‘Three of them have been done and we still have three to go. We’re relatively far down the line with one of them.
‘I want another senior player who is in his mid-20s but who has played a lot of football.
‘Hopefully we can get that one over the line.
‘It doesn’t always go at the speed you want it to happen as the players are at a good level and have other interest as well. We just need to be patient.
‘But if you’re going into transfer windows and only reacting, you’re not doing your job properly. We’ve had a list of targets, so that if we get knocked back by one we move on to the next one.
‘We’re by no means finished but it’s important to get the players in to bed them in, so we’re not in the same position we were in last year when we were signing guys a few days before our first league games.
‘We don’t want to be back in that situation. Recruitment makes you or breaks you as a manager. But I couldn’t be any happier with the group so far. They’re chomping at the bit. And the fixtures coming out has added to that excitement.’
Sheron, who spent part of last season on loan at Walsall, told St Mirren’s official website: ‘I’m really looking forward to it.
‘I’ve had nothing but good vibes from the club and it’s a really exciting time for myself. I got off the phone with the gaffer and he really sold the club to me.
‘It was brilliant and I’m really looking forward to working with him. I’m a defensive midfielder.
‘I’ll work hard, I’ll get myself stuck in and put up a fight.’