Goodwin still committed to his Buddies
JIM GOODWIN has stressed his focus remains very much on turning around St Mirren’s form after bookmakers tipped him as a contender to replace Jack Ross at Easter Road. The Paisley boss has been named in the betting alongside the likes of early favourite Alex Neil, Callum Davidson and Derek McInnes. Goodwin admitted he was ‘absolutely gutted’ for Ross after yesterday’s sacking, but is out to improve his own position when Hibs visit tomorrow under the interim leadership of David Gray. The fact St Mirren have gone eight games without a win is far more prominent in his mind than any speculation about a possible move. Asked about the bookmaker’s odds, Goodwin said: ‘I don’t pay a great deal of attention to that at all. I think every manager out of work will be in for it. ‘It’s a very highprofile job. In terms of infrastructure, budget and everything, Hibs is one of the main attractions in Scotland, there’s absolutely no doubt about that. ‘The CVs being chucked into the hat will come from far and wide. There are plenty of good managers out of work. It remains to be seen who the board there at Hibs decide to go for.
‘But I’m very, very happy here at St Mirren. I’ve got a big, big job on my hands to turn things around in terms of our current form.
‘We are at the beginning of a project, I feel. I’ve got a great relationship with the supporters and some members of the board I’ve known for a long time. I’m not in any hurry to leave St Mirren.
‘If eventually the opportunity does come and the timing is right, I want to leave here knowing I’ve left the club in a far better place. When that time comes, we’ll see.’
Goodwin plans to reach out to Ross in the next few days, but knows pressure could start to mount closer to home if St Mirren’s results don’t improve.
‘We are not at the stage where we are panicking,’ insisted Goodwin. ‘There haven’t been any crisis talks between myself and the board or with (chief executive) Tony Fitzpatrick.
‘Nobody needs to tell me that we need to win games, but I think the board and Tony can see how we are working, not only on the pitch, but off the pitch in terms of the progress we’ve made in all of the departments.
‘Unfortunately, the results in the league haven’t been good enough of late.
‘You can spin the numbers — four defeats in 14, seven draws in 14 — but the draws have really killed us this season. That’s something we need to change quickly.’
Goodwin became player-boss of Alloa in 2016 after Ross left for St Mirren. Asked if his predecessor played a part in him getting that job, Goodwin said: ‘I think he did. (Alloa chairman) Mike Mulraney would have asked Jack Ross for his opinion on me as a person and whether he thought I was capable of stepping up from being a player at the time to being a manager. I’m very grateful to Jack for the positive words he put in for me.’