Youngsters can fire Buddies to the final, says Goodwin

AS captain of St Mirren’s League Cup-winning team of 2013, Jim Goodwin benefited from the drive and quality of youngsters John McGinn and Kenny McLean.

The two midfielders have gone on to represent Scotland and star in the English Premier League, making the Paisley club a lot of money along the way.

As manager of the side that hopes to repeat that success, Goodwin would encourage Ethan Erhahon and Cammy MacPherson to try and emulate their predecessors.

Today’s semi-final against Livingston gives the club the chance to reach another cup final and longer-term, he reckons the two young midfielders could turn a profit for the club.

Now at Norwich City, McLean left Saints for Aberdeen in a £300,000 transfer in 2015, while McGinn had three good years at Hibs before a sell-on clause earned the Buddies a seven-figure sum from his big-money move to Aston Villa.

‘I feel Erhahon and MacPherson are really capable of doing what those two lads, McGinn and McLean, have done. There’s no doubt in my mind,’ says Goodwin. ‘Ethan is a young lad, he’s only 19, a left-sided central midfield with good pace and power.

‘He has very good vision when he’s on the ball and he’s only going to get better.

‘Young Cammy still has bits of his game to improve on. I’m constantly on at him to get better at the defensive side of the game.

‘He’s very good in possession, he loves being on the ball, he loves making things happen, but he’s still learning the defensive side of the game.

‘Once he gets better at that side of the game, he will look to feature a lot more consistently.’

At some point down the line it would be no surprise to see either player end up at Hibs, like McGinn.

In the last transfer window Kyle Magennis made the move east, a sign of where St Mirren sit in the Scottish football food chain. Although irked at the time, Goodwin sees no point in denying the reality.

‘That has always been the way for our club and I think probably for 70 per cent of the clubs in the league,’ he says.

‘You can say that Aberdeen, Hibs, Celtic and Rangers don’t necessarily need to sell players because of seasonticket revenue but for us selling a player every couple of seasons is a necessity.

‘We’ve done that very well in the past and that’s a big part of our recruitment.

‘Both Erhahon and MacPherson have come through the academy and that’s part of the club’s ethos.

‘It’s something I signed up to when I took the job and something I take great satisfaction from.

‘Even in my time at Alloa, I liked giving young lads that opportunity to get a decent run of games and prove they’re capable of playing at that level.

‘Sometimes it takes a bit of courage as a manager to do that because you know you’re going to make mistakes.

‘They have those inconsistencies in their game but unless you throw them in, you don’t know how they’re going to react.’