Folk think I’m off my head for taking the United job!
BUT GOODWIN IS CONFIDENT HE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN HIS TANNADICE RESCUE MISSION
JIM GOODWIN has admitted people warned him he was ‘off his head’ for accepting the manager’s job at crisis-hit Dundee United.
But the recently-sacked Aberdeen boss is confident he can succeed in his twin aims of saving the Tannadice club from relegation and restoring his battered reputation — starting with his baptism of fire against the Dons tomorrow night.
Goodwin was axed by the Pittodrie outfit in January amid a poor run of form culminating in a 1-0 Scottish Cup exit at sixth-tier Darvel and a 6-0 loss at struggling Hibernian.
But he secured a shock and speedy passage back into topflight management this week as struggling United’s third boss of the season after Jack Ross and Liam Fox.
The Tannadice side are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership and sporting director Tony Asghar quit this week with fans furious at the running of the club.
And Goodwin admits he ignored people whose opinion he respects to accept the post until the end of the season.
He said: ‘Through messages, I know people think I am off my head for coming into a job in this situation where we are four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
‘I’ve had a number of people advising me on what the risks are and what the negativity will look like if we don’t have a positive outcome.
‘Experienced people in the game — and some people who are still in the game — were all telling me I should wait until the summer and other things would come up. But my mindset is different. If I thought it was a sinking ship and a really poor squad of players, I wouldn’t have entertained a conversation with the board.
‘I wasn’t how happy how things ended at Aberdeen. The players here have got the chance to make amends over the next 12 games but me as a young manager, I have got the same opportunity — to show I had a bad week at Aberdeen and it cost me my job. To show that I am still able to manage at that level.’
Goodwin had been enjoying spending time away from football when the offer came in to manage United for the last 12 matches of the season after talks with Craig Levein broke down. The former St Mirren boss admits he had planned to assess his options in the summer but the United offer proved too good to refuse.
He said: ‘I didn’t plan for this. I was quite comfortable with what was going on at home and getting used to having a bit of time with the family and having a bit of normality back.
‘I had intended on waiting until the summer and seeing what options might be available.
‘That would have been the easy thing to do. But then a club of this size, with the squad and the ability that is there, was too exciting an opportunity to turn down.
‘People can look on it as a gamble. But I still think there is plenty of time to turn it around.’
As Goodwin’s now infamous walk across the pitch at Easter Road hit the television screens, the freshly-sacked Aberdeen manager’s mobile phone burst into life. But he insists he did not mean to make a dramatic exit and was only looking for the quickest way out of the Leith ground.
‘Some of the videos I have been sent of it have been dramatised and it looks like something from a Hollywood movie,’ reflected the Irishman.
‘There’s been a lot said about it but I can assure you, I was looking for the quickest route to my car! The steward pointed me in that direction and that was the way I went...’
Goodwin concedes he made mistakes during his short Pittodrie tenure, with the most porous defence in the league a particular regret. Ultimately, he hopes he will prove a better manager from the bruising period in his life.
‘For whatever reason, for the last couple of weeks I couldn’t get the boys going again,’ he said.
‘It’s not about blaming anyone else. It was my team and I take full accountability for that.
‘Of course, there was a lot of hurt and disappointment (when he was sacked) but there wasn’t a lot of anger. I have taken responsibility for what happened. I have no ill-feeling.
‘Sometimes, the negative experiences are the ones you probably take the most learnings from. You go back as far as the recruitment and say: “Could we have made some more signings in key areas?”
‘We left ourselves short at the back. In terms of recruitment, there’s some very good players there. It’s clear for everyone to see, particularly in attack. But we probably didn’t bring enough players of experience, who know what the Scottish game is all about defensively.
‘That’s something Dundee United have certainly got in abundance, with the likes of Ryan Edwards, Charlie Mulgrew and Scott McMann. There’s a number of defenders here who know exactly what the Scottish Premiership is all about.
‘But I don’t want to talk too much about Aberdeen. It’s about Dundee United now.’
Of course, the problem with Goodwin’s declaration that he does not want to talk about Aberdeen is that he makes his managerial bow as United boss tomorrow against the club that sacked him on January 28. The set-up at Tannadice means Aberdeen fans will be packed behind Goodwin’s technical area.
Does he wonder what kind of reception he will get after the Dons were on the wrong end of the worst Scottish Cup exit of all time during his troubled tenure?
‘I don’t know,’ replied the former St Mirren and Hamilton midfielder. ‘I stopped worrying about what kind of reception I would get as a player a long time ago because normally it wasn’t a very good one. That sort of thing doesn’t affect me.
‘All I would say to the Aberdeen fans was that I am very grateful to them for the support they gave to me during my short time at Pittodrie. I loved the club and everything about it. We left on good terms. I wish them nothing but success in the future — apart from on Saturday.’