Gus MacPherson reckons Jim Goodwin is the man to get Aberdeen back on track.
The Dons are hoping the former St Mirren boss can get them back challenging at the top again after slipping into the bottom six under Stephen Glass.
Goodwin was chosen as the man to replace him and he'll make his home debut against Dundee United - with Aberdeen legend Sir Alex Ferguson in attendance as his statue is set to be unveiled.
And MacPherson, a former manager at Saints who was sporting director while Goodwin was there, said: “Jim really has progressed as a manager, even in his time at St Mirren.
“He came with a good track record from Alloa and has not only developed himself but also the St Mirren team and the club.
“He has left Saints in a very good position and Aberdeen believe he is the man who can now take their club forward.
“It is a very good opportunity for him. He is still a young manager who is developing but is developing very quickly.
“Aberdeen will want to get back to the sort of successful period they had not so long ago under Derek McInnes, when they were getting into Europe regularly, making cup finals and challenging at the top end of the league.
“Jim is capable of getting them there and there is no doubt about that. Aberdeen bosses always get backed by the board and Jim will get that as well. I know Stephen Glass didn’t get particularly long but the chairman still backed him.
“I am sure Jim will put his own mark on things and will do things his way.”
MacPherson has warned the Dons squad if they don’t buy into Goodwin’s vision then the boss will be ruthless and bring in players who will.
He admitted: “Jim is a very tactically astute manager. He doesn’t try to complicate things.
“If he doesn’t have the players then he will bring in the players he needs to do the job.
“That is what he did at St Mirren. His recruitment was very straightforward. He made good signings and a lot of them were tried and trusted.
“A lot of them had good Premiership experience and there weren’t a lot of surprise elements to them, in terms of you knew they would bring quality and consistency.
“I think his recruitment will be quite similar at Aberdeen.”
Goodwin has already said he is very hands on when it comes to management, which could curtail skipper Scott Brown’s coaching career at Pittodrie.
MacPherson said: “He is very involved with every aspect of the management side.
“He is interested in every element and even when I was scouting and looking at players then Jim wouldn’t think twice about jumping in the car to come with me.
“Jim is immersed in it and it will be the same at Aberdeen. He treats everyone the same, whether you are a veteran or a teenager coming into the squad.
“Jim is cute and knows what buttons to press to get the best out of players.”
MacPherson helped Goodwin on the recruitment side but admits the Irishman’s contacts saw him bring Jamie McGrath, Connor McCarthy, Scott Tanser and Jak Alnwick to St Mirren.
He added: “Jim has very good contacts. He is well-connected in England and Ireland.
“McCarthy and McGrath I had seen but Jim was tipped off about them by his contacts.
“We had a database of players and I went to watch players but any signing was Jim’s signing.
“I don’t think he got many wrong in his time at St Mirren.
“They got very close to the top six last year and he left them in it before he joined Aberdeen. Now that is his first challenge at the Dons – to get them into the top half going into the split.”
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