JIM GOODWIN expects his latest recruit Bojan Miovski to go straight into his matchday squad for tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup tie at home to Raith Rovers as the Dons aim to maintain their perfect start to the new campaign.
Red tape held up the move for the Macedonia internationalist but he is fit and available for the clash at Pittodrie as the North East club aim for a fourth consecutive victory and a clean sheet.
The striker joins from MTK Budapest, the same club that Aberdeen signed central midfielder Yber Ramadani from earlier this summer, and Goodwin is pleased with the attacking options that he now has at his disposal following an over-reliance on Christian Ramirez for large spells of last season.
“Great to have Miovski here at last as he's another great attacking option for the team,” Goodwin said. “He'll go straight into the squad for the Raith game but he hasn't played any matches.
“We watched Bojan about six times in the flesh and our head of recruitment Darren Mowbray has been in 16 different countries since I came in. I gave him a list of priority positions and a No.9 striker was one of those as we relied heavily on Christian Ramirez last season.
“While Darren was over watching Miovski, Ramadani stuck out as well so we got both from MTK Budapest. They already know how to work together and that will make the whole process of settling in to Aberdeen much easier.
“I look at the attacking players in the squad now with Ramirez, Miovski and Duk along with Matty Kennedy back to full fitness. That's almost like a new signing. Marley Watkins is fit again and Jonny Hayes had come back like a 21-year-old.
“He's one of the older players in the squad but his numbers in terms of the GPS data and high-speed running is phenomenal. We've gone from having very few options to having lots of options which is what you want as a manager.”
Aberdeen sit top of Group A in the League Cup and a win tomorrow afternoon will guarantee their place in the knockout stages of the tournament. After recording convincing wins over Peterhead, Stirling Albion and Dumbarton, Goodwin is expecting a tougher afternoon against Raith.
There are still a couple more additions to the squad that the Irishman would like to make before the cinch Premiership curtain-raiser away to Celtic next weekend but the former St Mirren and Alloa manager remains fairly happy with the options available to him.
“The League Cup campaign in the group stages gives you the chance to build come confidence and momentum,” he said. “We've seen how difficult this part of the competition can be with some of the upsets.
“The fact we have managed three wins on the spin and managed to keep three clean sheets is good. Not that we are getting carried away as we know the level of the opposition that we have faced with all due respect.
“I think Raith will be a step-up in terms of quality of opposition and one I'm looking forward to see how my players rise to challenge. That will hopefully build us up to the first league game a week on Sunday.
“We're in really good shape at the moment. We have seven signings confirmed and we are still looking to do a bit of business.
“We'd still like to get another two or possibly three into the building but if the league campaign was to start tomorrow then I'd be very pleased with what we've got ready. There's still plenty of time left in the window and we have been one of the busier teams in the league up until now and the quality of player we've brought in is there for everyone to see.
“There's a real optimism and excitement within our own supporters now who are looking forward to the season ahead and that level of expectation grows every time you put in a performance like the boys put in last Wednesday as well as the previous ones.”
