Jim Goodwin insists the critics getting shirty over Scott Brown ’s on-field wind-ups are wide of the mark - as he dubbed the Aberdeen veteran a “proper captain”.
The St Mirren boss enjoyed his fair share of battles with the veteran in his playing days while Brown was in his pomp with Celtic.
But he revealed the kindness poured out of the midfielder the day he handed over his strip after one encounter - a memento his daughter still wears as a nightdress.
Brown has come in for heavy criticism for his gamesmanship which led to Rangers star Ryan Kent being red carded in last week’s fiery draw at Pittodrie.
Ex-Gers midfielder Alex Rae claimed the former Celtic midfielder “lacks class” while another former Ibrox man Colin Hendry suggested he hands over the armband if he wants to continue his “Robbie Savage stint”.
But as his St Mirren side prepare to face Brown and his Dons on Tuesday, Goodwin said: “You don’t have the type of career he’s had and play that long for Celtic, winning all those trophies, if you’re not a top professional.
“That’s what Scott is. He’s a born winner, a leader and a great signing for Aberdeen up to now.
“I think people talk too much about some of the carry-on with regard to the Ryan Kent situation.
“Scott Brown is a very influential player on the park and he drives his team on, whether that is playing for Celtic, Scotland or now Aberdeen.
“He sets a good example to the players around him and is a proper captain.
“I had plenty of good battles with him. We used to get stuck into each other and I always enjoyed playing against him.
“I got a jersey off him after one of the games. He very kindly gave to it me and my daughter uses it as a nightdress nowadays!
“He’s a top boy, to be fair. Any time I’ve had any dealings with him he’s always been a good lad.
“He is a character of the game, no doubt about that. He plays the game on the edge and maybe takes things a little too far at times but he’s a very good player.
“He’s be a very good team-mate, I’d imagine, and I think Aberdeen are very lucky to have him.”
Brown caused controversy on his last visit to Paisley in September - a game which the Buddies came from behind to win 3-2 - after he crudely blocked Marcus Fraser at a corner from which Christian Ramirez scored.
Goodwin said: “Aberdeen are very clever with their corners. They clearly spend time working on them.
“We’ll certainly be making the referee and linesman aware of it. We’re going to have to be aware of the tricks he will play.”
St Mirren have returned from the winter break with two wins on the bounce to bury the 11-game winless run that preceded the shut down.
The three-week break was priceless for Goodwin - but he’s no fan of the January transfer window and would love to see it ditched.
He said: “I think the break is a brilliant thing, not just for players to rest and recover and get over injuries but also for managers it’s a great time for us watch the games back, analyse training and see what we can do differently.
“We have made changes, we’ve changed the formation, we’ve worked on a different system.
“The January window only favours the big clubs or the clubs with money who can afford to go and buy players.
“The free market where you have the free agents isn’t really a great market.
“If players are free in this window it means they haven’t been playing a great deal prior to now and you have the fitness issues we experienced in previous windows.
“We signed players who we thought were good players in the January window last season and the season before and unfortunately on a couple of occasions they weren’t fit.
“Inevitably they break down in training because they aren’t used to training or playing. It’s a difficult window and I’d be in favour of not having it all.”
