Jim Goodwin: 'One bad week' cost me Aberdeen job, new Dundee United manager says
- Published
Goodwin 'off his head' for taking United job
New Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin believes it was "one horrendously bad week" that cost him his job at Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen in January.
The 41-year-old Irishman is expecting a "hot reception" from both sets of fans when the sides meet Tannadice on Saturday.
Goodwin reveals he had the chance to talk to "another club" that was looking for a manager last month.
But the Tannadice job "was too big an offer for me to turn down".
"I have been given the opportunity here to make amends - that's how I look at it," Goodwin says.
"I back myself. It is a fantastic opportunity for me having left Aberdeen - a big club in the Scottish Premier League - four or five weeks later to be offered the opportunity to manage another big club in the Scottish Premier League."
Goodwin's time at Pittodrie lasted 11 months and he pointed out that, going into the World Cup break, his side were third in the league and had reached the League Cup semi-finals, but he "found it very hard" to lift the players after two narrow defeats by Celtic and Rangers he believes were "the turning point".
"We had a really poor performance at Tynecastle, to be heavily defeated there, the Darvel game of course was a real cup upset and shock to everybody and then following it up with the heavy defeat at Easter Road, it was inevitable what the outcome was going to be," he suggests.
Goodwin rejects the suggestion that he "lost the dressing-room" at Pittodrie as there were "a lot players phoning the chairman pleading my case in that last week".
He takes over from the departed Liam Fox with United sitting bottom of the table but insists he has "inherited a very good squad".
"I think everybody on the outside looking in are scratching their heads wondering how this group of players are in the position they are in," Goodwin says.
"It is up to me to try to restore some belief in them and to try to get a tune out of them in the next 12 games."
United have only initially given Goodwin the job for 12 games until the end of the season.
"It is a situation we are both very happy with," he insists. "It's impossible for the club to be offering any long-term contracts to players or managers at this particular moment in time. It is a gamble worth taking."
Goodwin says he "had no inkling of the job until maybe 48 hours ago".
"I had another opportunity two or three weeks ago to enter into discussions with another club and I opted not to do that one," he adds.
"But, with this particular situation and this group of players, I believe that we can turn it around and that's why I'm here."
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