JIM GOODWIN remains in the market for a few final summer recruits with the transfer window set to close within the next fortnight.
It has been a busy close season at Pittodrie as the Irishman has stamped his authority on the playing squad. Eleven players have already been brought in this summer and around the same number have departed the Dons.
Goodwin insists he is happy with the squad that he has at his disposal but admits he is still on the look-out for a few more additions before the window closes at the start of September.
“We are actively looking and are speaking to a few at the moment,” Goodwin said. “There are quite a few that are keen to come but we just want to make sure we get the right ones in.
“We are still on the look-out. My squad is very strong at the moment so it is not panic stations or anything like that. We did a lot of very good early business.
“The guys that we brought in have settled in very well. We had a little bit of misfortune with Callum Roberts picking up that injury. He is probably going to be another eight weeks probably which is a real blow.
“In the whole the squad is looking strong and we are in decent shape. If the window was to close tonight there wouldn’t be too many problems in my end in terms of what we have already put together.”
“I am still looking a bit more on the attacking front,” he added. “A creative attacking-type or even another striking option.
“Obviously, [Bojan] Miovski has come in and has been brilliant. He has hit the ground running and settled in really quickly with four goals in four games.
“I have said previously you can never have too many options in the forward areas. Those are the places where you need to freshen things up and to make changes in the games.”
As well as hoping for one or two new arrivals, it would not come as a surprise to Goodwin if some of the players on the fringes of the first-team squad find new employers before the window shuts.
“The players who are available know who they are and it is up their representatives to get them somewhere where they are going to play more regular football,” he explained. “If they stay here after the window, I must add, they will part of my plans and good options for me going forward.
“We are quite a big squad at the moment and it is difficult to keep everyone happy. That is the situation we are in.
“There is a very good atmosphere about the place and I don’t want anyone frustrated when we start going into the end of September or whatever and they are still not playing games.
“Those guys have been well informed of what they are able to do and we will wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”
Aberdeen’s strong start to the season was disrupted last weekend when the Dons lost 3-2 to Motherwell at home but Goodwin believes his players can get their campaign back on track with three points against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park tomorrow afternoon.
Laying down an early marker, the Pittodrie boss adds, is of utmost importance.
“I think it's really important to get off to a really positive start and gain some momentum, which is what we done with the League Cup group stage,” Goodwin reasoned. “We gave a decent account of ourselves at Parkhead [when Celtic won 2-0] and followed it up with a really convincing performance against St Mirren.
“Last weekend was a bump in the road with a disappointing performance and result. We are going to play badly on occasion and are not going to get it right every weekend but the good teams play poorly and still take something from the game.
“We have to manage the game better on the pitch as well as on the pitch and we all accept responsibility for that and we must get back to winning ways on Saturday.”
