Bullish Jim Goodwin reckons there is nothing wrong with striker Bojan Miovski aiming to become Scotland’s top scorer this season as it proves his summer signing is brimming with self-belief.
The Aberdeen boss insists Miovski wasn’t throwing down the gauntlet to the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi or Antonio Colak with his comments after the North Macedonian international’s double against Kilmarnock last week took his tally to seven for the season. But Goodwin was happy to see his £530,000 signing having the confidence to say what he thinks.
The Dons manager, who is hoping Miovski adds to his goal haul against Dundee United on Saturday night, said: “The actual quotes from the interview maybe don’t align with some of the headlines out there – him claiming that he was trying to make it a competition with the Old Firm. That wasn’t what he meant.
“He backs himself, has big self belief and has confidence in his own ability. Bojan believes in the players he is playing with and that they are going to create chances.
“He’s a guy that has come from Eastern Europe, a new culture, language barriers, different style of football. For him to settle in as quickly as he has is a great credit to him and the surroundings at the club that has been created to allow him to feel as comfortable as he does.
“He is a top, top player. What he meant in the interview is that he has that self belief and he genuinely believes he can compete with those guys in the top goal-scoring charts. That’s what we want.
“We have made quite a significant investment in Miovski in terms of the transfer fee involved. He is leading the line for his country now, North Macedonia, and has become their main man which is brilliant.”
Goodwin praised the contribution of his team behind the scenes for helping Miovski and a host of players who arrived in the summer settle in so quickly. He added: “My staff have a big role to play in that to make sure that the guys are well looked after and settle in quickly.
“We have a big football operations’ department which makes sure the players don’t have to think about a great deal and all the stuff away from football is taken care of, like accommodation, sorting out bank accounts and phones.
“We have created a brilliant culture at the training ground. The players have appreciated the club they’ve come into and the level of professionalism.
“And the group that remained with us from last season are all good people. The likes of Johnny Hayes, Joe Lewis, Marley Watkins and Ross McCrorie –these types of guys and more that I haven’t mentioned. All good types who have made settling in that bit easier.
“It’s great for us as a club to be able to highlight that fact in future recruitment to show how well the likes of Ylber Ramadani and Miovski, who came from a team which struggled in the Hungarian league, have settled. Our recruitment team identified them and we spent hours analysing their game to decide that they suited the Scottish Premiership.”
Goodwin, who will begin a six-match dugout ban, is calling for his men to back up their win by adding to Dundee United’s miserable start to the season. He said: “My guys are in a brilliant place, the polar opposite probably to how the Dundee United players are feeling. We want to win back to back games in the Premiership which is a very difficult thing to do.”
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