Kelly praises Goodwin influence
Sean Kelly has praised the job his former St Mirren teammate Jim Goodwin has done at Alloa Athletic.
Goodwin was the club captain in Paisley when Kelly broke into the first team, having come through the youth ranks at the Buddies.
That meant that the Republic of Ireland international was someone that Kelly regularly went to for advice, so Kelly is not surprised that Goodwin has gone on to do such a good job that other teams have been linked with him.
"I'm really good friends with Jim from our time at St Mirren, he really helped me along when I was there, breaking into the team," Kelly recalled.
"I talked to him every day, so to see what he's done has been incredible – where they are in the league, some of the results they've picked up.
"It's one of those things, the job he's doing, he's getting earmarked now for a couple of other jobs, which he should be with the job he's doing.
"It will be a hard game, every one of them has been against Alloa, and it's not one we'll be taking lightly."
As a player, Goodwin was famed for his no-nonsense approach to football.
He was no stranger to having a word with the referee, and found himself on the end of a violent conduct charge on more than one occasion.
But Kelly says his manner off the pitch was completely different, and lauded his mentorship for the young crop of players coming through at St Mirren at that time.
"Obviously I know what kind of style he envisaged playing in, he was an experienced player and he helped the likes of myself, Jason Naismith, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, all of us coming through," he said.
"The persona of Jim you saw on the pitch was completely different from what you saw off the pitch.
"If you tell people what kind of guy he was they wouldn't believe you, he was so mellow and calm.
"It was really great for us as four youngsters coming through, and he portrays it on his team on the sidelines.
"He seems very calm, it's a credit to him and I've no doubt he's going to do well there."
Alloa are the in-form side in the Scottish Championship, taking 14 points from their last five games.
In fact, Ross County were the last team to beat the Wasps in the league when they clashed at Recreation Park at the start of December.
Kelly says he has been impressed with this afternoon's opponents this season.
"They're more than holding their own, they're not bottom of the league," he reasoned.
"They don't play a certain style where they're destructive or anything.
"They come out and they try and have a good game with you, which is a credit to them on the fitness side being part time.
"I think that's just how well they're drilled and how well Jim's got them playing."
