Jon Daly has lauded Jim Goodwin’s summer recruitment drive after welcoming the Dundee United boss’ contract extension with the Tangerines.
The former Tannadice hero – a Scottish Cup winner in 2010 – is a long-time friend of Goodwin, with the duo playing together with the Ireland youth sides and for a brief spell with Stockport County.
During his time as St Patrick’s Athletic gaffer, Daly was a guest at United training, viewing a session and picking the brains of the ex-Aberdeen and St Mirren manager.
And Daly is thrilled to see the Terrors flying high in fourth spot in the Premiership ahead of Saturday’s visit to another of his old clubs, Rangers.
Daly: United stability key
“I’ve known Jim for a long time,” Daly told Courier Sport. “We played together for the Ireland youth teams and for a period at Stockport, and I’ve kept in contact with him.
“Over the (Irish) close season, I actually popped over to see him and take in a session.
🇮🇪 A special visitor to the Regional Performance Centre for #DUFC's Thursday morning session
Delighted to welcome you, Jon! 🙋🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/TJyZ7q3g95
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) December 14, 2023
“I was delighted to see that he had signed his extension. It brings stability around the club after a couple of difficult years. Everyone knows what is happening in the immediate future, and they can build from there.”
And Daly reckons the success of United’s close season arrivals has provided the platform for a solid start, with most of Goodwin’s 13 captures making a significant impact.
The likes of Emmanuel Adegboyega, Luca Stephenson, Kristijan Trapanovski, David Babunski, Sam Dalby and Will Ferry have been nothing short of pivotal.
A superb hit-rate for Goodwin, head of recruitment Michael Cairney and chief executive Luigi Capuano.
Real quality
“Jim is very astute in the transfer market and has brought some real quality to those starting positions, and good competition to the group,” Daly added.
“That’s been one of his biggest successes.
“You can look back to his work with Aberdeen. As well as the boys that have made the club good money – (Bojan) Miovski, (Ylber) Ramadani – a lot of those who are doing well this season were signed during Jim’s time there.
“There are a lot of important factors to being a good football manager, but if you get the recruitment right consistently then you give yourself a good opportunity to do well.”
Daly added: “You can see from the results this season that Jim is very good with his coaching. He is getting his message across. The players are all well-drilled and know what he wants from them. It’s great to see.”
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