Jim Goodwin has watched Aberdeen go from toothless to ruthless by bagging 28 goals in 10 games. But the Pittodrie boss insists he’s still not satisfied.
The red-hot Dons have blazed a trail into the last eight of the League Cup and are up to fourth spot in the Premiership as it stands, dishing out heavy doings to Livingston, St Mirren and Stirling on the way. A 4-1 extra-time victory at Annan on Wednesday took their tally to 16 in five League Cup games and booked a quarter-final clash with Partick Thistle.
It’s all a far cry from the blunt side that finished last season in 10th – scoring just eight times in their last 10 matches. Summer signing Bojan Miovski is already on six goals from seven appearances while Vicente Besuijen’s double at Annan took the Dutchman to five. But Goodwin insists there’s far more to come from his new-look side.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Ross County, he said: “I was looking at the numbers and analysing Tuesday’s game and I’m still not satisfied with where we’re at.
“We’re doing OK. We’ve picked up some very good results but I still think there’s much improvement to be had. It’s a new squad, 11 new players. They’ve kneaded together a bit better than I had anticipated but there’s so much more to come from the group.
“Then I look at the numbers and we’ve played 10 games and scored 28 goals. We’ve conceded seven and of those there have been three corners and a penalty which for me are very avoidable. When I look at it from that aspect I think we’ve not done too badly at all – we’re in the quarter-final of the League Cup, fourth in the table and have been quite an entertaining side.
“But I still think there are parts of our game that we need to scrub up on. The shape of the team needs to be better at times. Particularly in transitions, I feel we’re getting hit on the counter too often.
“What gives most optimism and hope is the fact we’re still a young, new group getting to know each other. If we can improve on 28 goals in 10 games then happy days.”
Goodwin was pleased with the cup draw which pits his side against Championship high-fliers Jags at home next month.
He said: “It’s one of the more favourable draws. I don’t want to say we were all jumping about the place, that would be disrespectful to Partick Thistle, but you want a home tie and thereafter see what you get.”
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough loanee Hayden Coulson returns to the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Dingwall.
And Goodwin reckons Connor Barron should be back in training in a fortnight with a return to the matchday squad pencilled in for early October. The midfielder suffered knee damage in a pre-season friendly against Buckie Thistle.
But Cal Roberts isn’t expected to feature again until after the winter break as he nurses a hamstring problem.
Goodwin said: “We’re hoping Connor will be back training in a fortnight but realistically it will probably be early October before he will be considered for selection because of the length of time he has been out.
“He’ll be back doing a mini pre-season almost to get his fitness levels back and we have to be careful we don’t put too much pressure on him and cause a recurrence of the injury. Cal will be a little bit longer. It will probably be after the winter break I’d imagine before we see him.”
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