Cammy and Ethan can be the next John and Kenny
Jim Goodwin had two rising stars as team-mates when he won the League Cup with St Mirren in 2013.
John Mcginn was only 19 and Kenny Mclean just 22 when the Buddies beat Celtic in the semifinal before lifting the trophy by defeating Hearts.
Goodwin is now the boss and believes there are two youngsters in his squad capable of emulating the achievements of Mcginn and Mclean.
That’s quite an ambitious boast considering both men have performed in England’s Premier League – Mcginn with Aston Villa and Mclean at Norwich – and become Scotland squad regulars.
But Goodwin is adamant Cammy Macpherson and Ethan Erhahon can show their quality in today’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Livingston and go on to great things.
He said: “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.
“Ethan is a young lad. He’s only 19, a left-sided central midfielder 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, he will look to feature a lot more consistently.
“They have both 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.
“For clubs like ourselves, I think selling a player every couple of seasons is a necessity.”
Back in January, 2013, Esmael Goncalves made a surprise debut for the Saints in the League Cup semi-final against Celtic.
He had just arrived on loan from Rio Ave in Portugal, and scored in the 3-2 victory.
Goodwin was as surprised as anyone by this overnight success.
He said: “I think we all were at the time. Esmael was introduced to the group on the Friday, did very little training or preparation, and just got thrown into the starting 11.
“The impact that he made on that particular day was incredible.
“He soon became a bit of a cult hero around Paisley and among the fans.
“We were hoping for a similar story with our new signing Collin Quaner, but unfortunately he picked up a knock against St Johnstone, which is looking like it’s going to rule him out.
“That’s a huge disappointment. But we’ve got enough options at the top end of the pitch. I just need to pick the right set of players to do the job.”