GOODWIN’S A GOOD ’UN
Obika settled at Saints thanks to bright boss who has made him happy as Harry
TO describe Jon Obika’s career as nomadic would be something of an understatement. Since making his senior debut for Tottenham 12 years ago, the striker has had 14 moves (11 temporary, three permanent) and played for 10 different clubs. But he is finally prepared to put down some roots in Paisley after finding, in St Mirren’s Jim Goodwin, the most inspirational manager he has worked under since Harry Redknapp mentored him as a teenager at White Hart Lane.
Redknapp earned promotion for Bournemouth, won the FA Cup with Portsmouth, took West Ham into Europe and became the first Spurs boss to take the club into the Champions League.
Goodwin, by contrast, led part-time Alloa into the Championship in 2018 and, just as impressively, kept them there.
But Obika believes the Irishman’s efforts in building and reshaping the Buddies in his first campaign at the New Digital Arena equalled Harry’s achievements and is sure the 38-year-old, who captained Saints to League Cup glory in 2012, can emulate Redknapp by going all the way to the top.
‘Harry gave me my debut as a sub in a win away to Nijmegen in the UEFA Cup and my first-ever start was in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk,’ he said. ‘I was excited more than nervous and loved every minute of that.
‘I’d go to training every day and watch Luka Modric never give the ball away. Playing alongside guys like Gareth
Bale and Kyle Walker meant you had to raise your level and, when youngsters were invited to train with the first team, Harry always made them feel welcome.
‘He was amazing to work with. He knew the names of everyone at the club, even the Under-16 team.
‘He also kept things very simple and having clear information is really important to players.
‘Jim Goodwin reminds me of Harry in that respect because he also doesn’t overcomplicate things. And, like Harry, he’s a boss with a passion which makes you want to play for him — one conversation with him was enough for me to decide to come to Scotland and I’ve never regretted it.
‘Seeing what he does day in and day out at training is an eye-opener because his sessions are really good. Like Harry, he can get the best out of people. He tells you what he expects from you and you want to work hard for him.
‘We’re now all looking forward to getting back to work with him next week and I’m just champing at the bit to play again.’
It obviously wasn’t immediately apparent to those present when Obika scored the only goal to beat Hearts in Paisley on March 11 (the last game to be played in Scotland prior to the shutdown) that relegation had been decided, although the result of the latest reconstruction vote tomorrow could yet spare the Edinburgh club.
Victory for the visitors would have seen them replaced at the foot of the table by the Buddies, but the striker’s confident finish showed how far he and his team-mates had come since Goodwin (below with Obika) replaced Oran Kearney last summer.
Obika had managed just one goal in his final 33 appearances for Oxford United but Goodwin spotted his potential and was determined to bring him north of the border.
He also displayed patience when the striker failed to find the net in his first eight outings for
Saints and he was rewarded when
Obika harvested a round dozen goals in the next 26 games, culminating in that decisive strike against Hearts.
‘It’s only now that I can really appreciate the significance of my goal and the result that night,’ said Obika.
‘Things were so tight at the bottom then that it did have the feel of a play-off final about it — it was a real six-pointer.
‘We knew how important that game was going into it, although no one could have predicted what happened next.
‘Right from the start of the season we had to adapt,’ he stressed.
‘There was a new manager and he had to bring in his own players and then everyone had to get to know each other and learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.
‘That took time and hard work on the training ground before it started to kick in.
‘By the time the lockdown came, we’d lost only three of our last 11 games.
‘It was unfortunate for us that the season ended when it did because the boys were convinced that we were going to continue taking points from everyone.
‘Obviously, I can understand why anyone at Hearts would think that they could still come off the bottom and move away from the drop zone because there were 24 points still to play for.
‘But, when you look at the form guide, we were the ones who were looking forward to moving up the table.
‘We’d lost to Hearts at Tynecastle but we were the only bottom-six side they had won against and we’d drawn with them and beaten them at home. ‘Obviously, it’s unsatisfactory when a season ends in that way but no one could have predicted this pandemic and there were sound health reasons for making that decision.
‘But we deserved to stay up.’