Gers have to heed Warsaw warning
Gaffer Jim reckons he has got the best
He continued: “I’m led to believe a bid came in from Qarabag of Azerbaijan a few weeks ago.
“It wasn’t anywhere near where we would expect it to be. We have a valuation of the player that hasn’t been matched, simple as that.
“Come January, who knows. Someone could come in with a ridiculous bid and then we’ll have to sit down and look at it.
“For the time being we are delighted to have him.
“We need to be realistic about it, he has done well for the club and, hopefully, will do so again this season.
“But if somebody bigger and better comes along and is going to make him a financial offer that is too good to turn down, we can’t deny him that opportunity.
“While we have him I think we’ve got to cherish him, look after him and continue to get the best out of him.”
This afternoon will be the first time Goodwin has gone head- to- head with Rangers boss Steven Gerrard.
The St Mirren gaffer admits he grew up as a Liverpool fan and often watched Gerrard in action during his time on the books of Stockport County.
Goodwin said: “As a captain, you have to be a leader to set good standards on and off the pitch.
“I’d imagine he demands high standards of the boys in training and won’t let much go if guys drop below what he expects.”
Ask any of the St Mirren players and they’ll tell you that’s exactly the approach they’ve encountered since Goodwin took over from Oran Kearney.
“I have been at clubs when you come in on a Monday, after a Saturday game, and it’s a stroll Legia Warsaw midfielder Andre Martins has promised Rangers they will definitely score at Ibrox this week.
The Light Blues are strong favourites to progress after Thursday’s goalless draw in the first leg of the Europa League play-off.
But Legia have kept seven clean sheets in a row in European football, and the Por tuguese international midfielder is adamant they will net in Scotland.
The 29- year- old former Sporting Lisbon player said: “We know Rangers are a good team, with a legendary coach in Steven Gerrard.
“But I think they only played as well in Warsaw as we allowed them to.
“It was really important we didn’t concede. A 0- 0 draw is actually a really good result because it puts pressure on the home team in the second leg.
“We will definitely score in Glasgow.
“And when we do, it will be very hard for them, especially with their fans expecting them to win.
“I think both teams tried to play football in the first leg, but we had the better chances
“We thoroughly analysed them. We knew they have very fast players and that’s why we were very compact.
“But we still created plenty of chances.
“Perhaps we haven’t scored as many goals as we can recently with the chances we have created, but they will come.” around the pitch, a cup of coffee, read the paper, then up the road,” he said.
“I’m not into that. If we make the effort to come in here and I make the effort to put on a session, we want it to be done properly.
“It has been consistent from day one – no mixed messages.
“The boys know what they have to do. We’ve told them if they don’t fancy it, they can come and see us and we’ll move them on.
“As yet, nobody has come to see us. “I made a career out of being fit. I say that to the boys, particularly the young ones. “If you are as fit as you possibly can be and have ability to go with it, you’ll have a really good career.” ■
Gary’s Rangers reunion – See Page 24