St Mirren: Jim Goodwin appointed two days after Oran Kearney leaves
- Published
Watch: Goodwin in scoring form for St Mirren
The chance to return to St Mirren was "too good to turn down," says former skipper Jim Goodwin after signing a three-year deal as manager.
Goodwin, 37, replaces Oran Kearney who left the Scottish Premiership club on Wednesday after a 10-month stint.
Goodwin kept part-time Alloa Athletic in the Championship last season, having won promotion the year before.
"This is a very proud moment for me and one I will never take for granted," Goodwin said.
The Irishman becomes St Mirren's 10th manager in just over nine years and brings his Alloa assistant Lee Sharp, a fellow former Buddies player, with him as number two.
"I had three wonderful seasons at Alloa and loved every minute of it," Goodwin added. "But the opportunity to come back to the place where I had my most memorable spell as a player was too good to turn down."
While still a player, the Irishman was part of the coaching set-up in Paisley under Tommy Craig in 2014 before leaving the club two years later.
As well as captaining the side, Goodwin made 181 appearances for St Mirren and was part of the team that won the League Cup in 2013.
St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott thanked Alloa for their co-operation in the deal.
"Jim was a firm fans' favourite as a player here," Scott added. "And I know he will receive terrific backing from our support as our new manager."
Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney admitted his disappointment at losing Goodwin and Sharp but said: "Both go with our gratitude for the outstanding service they have given the club."
'He's inspirational, but it will be tough' - analysis
Former St Mirren striker Steven Thompson
Jim has proved himself capable - you just have to look at what he achieved at Alloa. They had the smallest budget in the Championship so to keep them up was a massive feat. He'd absolutely get the backing of the supporters. He was a firm fans' favourite when he was captain.
He is a leader, he's an inspirational guy but it'll be extremely tough. I'm predicting St Mirren will still be playing catch-up come Christmas time. He will not have the biggest budget so he's got to get the best out of the players that are there and sign well - recruitment's so incredibly important and there's not a lot of time.