Dundee United boss Tam Courts is delighted Aberdeen entrusted one of Scotland’s top managerial jobs to a young gaffer in Jim Goodwin.
Courts, at 40, is the third youngest boss in the country, behind Goodwin (who is three months younger) and Hibs manager Shaun Maloney (39).
The United head coach is pleased to see yet another Premiership club appointing an up-and-coming candidate to its top job.
And he believes Goodwin’s Dons switch proves timing is everything in football.
“Football can turn very, very quickly,” said Courts.
🔴 The new boss checks in for his first game in charge.
COYR! #StandFree pic.twitter.com/QfApWbHzig
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) February 19, 2022
“Jim had come to us with his St Mirren team which hadn’t won a game for a prolonged period before they beat us.
“They got the win, went on a run and a month or so later he has the Aberdeen job.
“It shows how quickly football can change.
“I want to pit my wits against the best managers around and it is good to see another young manager getting one of the best jobs in the country.”
Courts’ Tangerines face Goodwin’s Dons on Saturday in the latest “New Firm” clash.
The first one of the season – on opening day – saw United defeated.
And looking back, Courts feels that afternoon “forced his hand” when it came to tactics for the campaign ahead.
“We maybe had a formation that suited us to the players we had available at that time maybe, rather than suited what we needed,” he said.
“I changed the formation after the Aberdeen performance and we got the win against Rangers (in the following game).
“It forced my hand in terms of bringing in some different personnel and changing things up. “Formations can sometimes be overstated in terms of their importance but when you are a new manager coming in it is important that you bed in your ideas to get the right structure and plan going forward.
“Once we changed it resulted in a really good run of results that was the cornerstone for our strong start to the season.”
He added: “See when you go back and watch that first game of the season it was nowhere near as bad as people made out.
“Yes, Aberdeen were the better team on the day and they won but it wasn’t a comprehensive win. “It was a tight game although we didn’t carry enough of an attacking threat.
“A lot was made about our lack of attacking threat but then the following week we went and beat Rangers.
“It is what makes this league so unique and exciting. I think you will see a lot of tight games between now and the split.”
