ABERDEEN boss Jim Goodwin insists the saga over his comments about Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous will prompt him to manage his emotions better in future.
The Dons manager was initially handed an eight-game touchline ban after accusing the Easter Road player of “blatant cheating” following the previous meeting between the teams in September.
His punishment was this week reduced on appeal to five matches, with two of them suspended, and Goodwin admitted he was “really pleased with the outcome”.
“Listen, it’s probably taught me a lesson or two in terms of trying to manage my emotions in the immediate aftermath of a very disappointing result and one or two instances in the game that didn’t go the way we felt they should,” he said.
“I probably wasn’t the most diplomatic in what I had to say and that’s probably something that has gone against me. I’ll make sure I don’t make that mistake again in the future.”
Aberdeen face Hibs at Pittodrie on Friday for the first time since Porteous incurred Goodwin’s wrath, but the Dons boss does not anticipate any bad blood to carry over into this meeting between two sides vying for third place in the cinch Premiership.
“I don’t think it will have any effect on the atmosphere,” he said. “It certainly won’t have an impact on the emotional state of my players, which is what I’m most concerned about.
“It’s going to be a difficult game. Hibs are a very good side. They leapfrogged us into third spot last weekend and we would like to try and take that place back on Friday. That’s the kind of language we’re talking about here, we’re not looking for anything else from the game.
“What happened in the last game at Easter Road is irrelevant now, we can’t change that however disappointed we were with the outcome and one or two events. There will be no thinking about that on Friday.”
Goodwin is not overly concerned about having to watch his team from the directors’ box instead of the technical area, insisting that modern technology makes communication with his staff and players “seamless”.
“All the work is done in the days leading up to a matchday,” he said. “It’s very hard for a manager on the sideline to have any great influence on the game.
“Sometimes you can shout on words of encouragement but the tactical changes I’d make from the sideline are no different to the tactical changes I’ll make from the directors’ box on Friday.
“Sometimes the players on the opposite side of the pitch don’t hear you anyway. I’m not concerned that me not being on the sideline is going to have a negative impact on my team. Half-time is probably the biggest impact because it’s those 15 minutes when if you want to drum home a message, that’s probably the biggest difficulty of the situation.
“It’s not something we’re going to make excuses about because I’ve got great levels of communication and IT equipment available if I feel the need to speak to the guys in the dressing room.”
