Jim Goodwin says Aberdeen’s threat as an attacking force must come to the fore when St Mirren make the trip to Pittodrie.
The Reds play their first home league game of the campaign today, when Goodwin’s former club make the trip to the north-east.
Both sides are looking to bounce back from opening day defeats, with the Reds defeated 2-0 by Celtic, while the Buddies went down 1-0 to Motherwell.
The return to home action following their trip to Parkhead brings an expectation for the Dons to get on the front foot.
Goodwin, who made the trip to Pittodrie several times as a St Mirren player and manager, knows exactly what to expect from the Paisley outfit.
He said: “The way we set up against Celtic on Sunday isn’t the way we are going to set up against St Mirren on Saturday.
“We’ll have plenty of the ball, we’ve got to be brave on it and we’ve got to be on the front-foot, it’s as simple as that.
“We need forward passes and we need forward runs and if we do that then I think we can cause St Mirren problems.
“Being at a club of this size, like Hearts, Hibs, possibly even Dundee United, the away team, outwith the Old Firm, tend to come here with a game plan of trying to frustrate.
“I’ve done it myself with St Mirren when I came to Aberdeen in the past.
“You try and quieten the crowd, you try and get the crowd on the home team’s back and that’s no doubt what Stephen Robinson will be saying to his players before a ball is kicked.
“Stephen has spoken openly about how he wants his team to be a counter-attacking team.
“My message to my players is that if we don’t get that opening goal in the first 15 or 20 minutes we have to be patient, not force things and not play into St Mirren’s hands.”
New arrivals know what is expected of them at Dons
Goodwin further bolstered his squad on Thursday with the capture of Fleetwood Town winger Shayden Morris.
It takes the Dons’ tally of summer signings into double figures to mark a fresh start under Goodwin, who replaced Stephen Glass in February.
Goodwin says each of his new arrivals is in no doubt over the demands placed on them in representing Aberdeen.
He added: “They understand the level of expectation that is here. I get back to speaking about the character, you’ve got to be a strong character to play for a big club.
“It’s all well and good being the underdog, it’s straight forward and there’s not a lot of pressure on you.
“When you’re one of the big boys that level of expectation is lifted and you’ve got to be able to handle that.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to stress to the players in the build-up to this game.
“Our fans will want us to come flying out the traps which we will and they’ll want us to show that we’ve not been affected by the result last weekend and we’re capable of carrying on the good form from the League Cup.”
The Dons will welcome Liam Scales back into their squad, after the on-loan Celtic defender was ineligible to face his parent club.
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