MX23RW : Friday, March 29 06:00:57| >> :120:66380:66380:

Jim Goodwin: 'Chance of St Mirren return was too good to turn down'

The 37-year-old former Saints captain has signed a three-year deal to replace Oran Kearney,

New St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin admits the chance to return to Paisley was too good to turn down.

The Irishman has rejoined the club he captained for five years after penning a three-year deal.

The 37-year-old replaces Oran Kearney, who was axed following a row with chairman Gordon Scott over his plans to commute daily from his family home in Northern Ireland.

But Goodwin – who skippered Saints to their first trophy in 26 years when he lifted the 2013 League Cup – insists he will not take the opportunity ahead of him for granted after being given the green light by Alloa to move back to Renfrewshire.

Goodwin will officially start work on Monday when he meets his new squad for the first time as they jet out to Spain for a pre-season camp.

In the meantime, youth coaches Allan McManus and Andy Webster will be in charge of the team for Friday night's friendly clash with Belfast amateurs Rosario Juniors.

Goodwin said: "I am absolutely delighted to have been offered the job as manager of this great club.

"I had three wonderful seasons at Alloa and loved every minute of it, but the opportunity to come back to the place where I had my most memorable spell as a player was too good to turn down.

"This is a very proud moment for me and one I will never take for granted. I'm looking forward to meeting the staff and players next week, and genuinely can't wait to get started."

Goodwin, who will be assisted by his Wasps number two and former Saints defender Lee Sharp, racked up more than 180 appearances for Saints after signing from Hamilton in 2011.

Two years later he became just the fourth Buddies captain to get his hands on a major piece of silverware as Danny Lennon's team toppled Hearts at Hampden, and his achievements as a player saw him inducted into Saints' Hall of Fame in October 2017 as part of the club's 140th Anniversary celebrations.

He joined Alloa after being released in the summer of 2016 and stepped up to replace Jack Ross as boss at the Indodrill Stadium three months later when his old Saints team-mate was lured back to Paisley himself.

Goodwin led the Wasps to promotion from Ladbrokes League One the following season and then guided them to Championship survival last year despite being the only part-time team in the division.

Now Scott hopes his new boss can reproduce those kind of results with St Mirren.

The chairman said: "I am absolutely delighted to welcome Jim back to St Mirren.

"He was a firm fans favourite as a player here and I know he will receive terrific backing from our support as our new manager.

"I would like to thank Alloa Athletic for their co-operation in allowing us the opportunity to speak with Jim."

Wasps owner Mike Mulraney said: "Obviously the Alloa fans will be disappointed that we have lost another manger, but we are sure you will agree with the board that both go with our gratitude for the outstanding service they have given Alloa Athletic.

"We are sure they will be a success in the future and we wish them well.

"Special mention must go to Jim who has had an outstanding tenure as Alloa manager and has given everything to the club in his time here.

"His effort has been reflected in the results the team have achieved. We would also like to record that St Mirren have conducted the process impeccably at all times."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Newport, PA');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '165aacc1-eae5-497a-9bef-b5e1f1095cff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Goodwin: Opportunity to return to St Mirren was too good to turn down'});

ID:363208: cacheID:363208:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5906:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of St Mirren Park from 2009
Read Next:
Former St Mirren defender Lee Mair backs Jim Goodwin to replace Oran Kearney
>
Read more about Jim Goodwin Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic30225371234871
2RangersRangers29231564164870
3Hearts3017493930955
4Kilmarnock30111183933644
5St Mirren30126123637-142
6Hibernian30911104145-438
7Dundee2999114050-1036
8Motherwell30711124147-632
9Aberdeen3079143348-1530
10St Johnstone30610142141-2028
11Ross County3069152851-2327
12Livingston3038192052-3217


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!