Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has vowed to consistently deliver entertaining, attacking and winning football to the club’s supporters.
He insists the alternative of “sitting behind the ball” would be “extremely boring” – and a route he refuses to contemplate.
The Dons secured an emphatic 4-1 defeat of Kilmarnock at Pittodrie to jump back into the Premiership top six.
Aberdeen have now scored 15 goals in their four home Premiership games this season.
No team in the top flight has scored as many league goals at home as Goodwin’s Dons.
The Reds boss insists he and his players have a responsibility to light up the club’s supporters with attacking football.
Goodwin said: “Football, first and foremost, is about entertainment.
“As a young manager I am desperate to try to play the game in what I believe is the right way.
“If we all set up playing counter-attack football with two teams sitting 11 men behind the ball waiting for opportunities it would be extremely boring to watch.
“It would be extremely boring to manage and extremely boring to play in.
“Managers, players and coaches, we all have a responsibility to entertain the fans.
“Particularly here at Pittodrie and hopefully the fans all went home feeling good.”
Inspiring supporters of the future
Aberdeen secured three points courtesy of a brace from Bojan Miovksi and goals from Vicente Besuijen and Anthony Stewart.
It is the third emphatic win at Pittodrie in four Premiership games.
Aberdeen beat Livingston 5-0 in their last home clash and had previously beaten St Mirren 4-1 at Pittodrie.
The only blip at home was a 3-2 loss to Motherwell.
Goodwin hopes the latest goal fest can inspire young children present at the Kilmarnock game to become lifelong Aberdeen supporters.
He said: “We had a great initiative with the Dons Day where we had kids in the top tier of the stand.
“Throughout the course of the game we could hear them.
“Hopefully those young ones go away with a great memory of the day and become lifelong Aberdeen fans in the future.”
Positive response to Hibs setback
Aberdeen bounced back from a disappointing 3-1 defeat away to Hibs in their previous match, before the international break.
The Dons have now jumped up to fifth in the table, two points behind third place St Mirren.
Goodwin said: “I am pleased especially after our last game at Hibs where we were disappointed with the result and the manner of it.
“I felt the boys gave a great reaction.
“It is always important to give a reaction in the next game, especially in front of such a great crowd.
“There was 16,000 there today.”
‘A pleasing and convincing performance’
Former Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, now Kilmarnock boss, returned to Pittodrie for the first time since being axed by the Dons in March 2021.
Dons boss Goodwin had to reshuffle his pack due to the suspension of centre-back Liam Scales following his dismissal against Hibs.
Midfielder Ross McCrorie dropped into the centre-back role.
Attacker Marley Watkins also came in for his first Premiership start of the season.
Goodwin said: “I thought 4-1 made it looked extremely comfortable but that wasn’t the case in the first half.
“We left ourselves open to the counter-attack on too many times.
“All in all, it was a pleasing and convincing performance against a team who were very well organised.
“Derek is a good, experienced manager and his team is always set up in a way that makes life difficult and hard to beat.
“We were patient in our build up and played our way out of trouble in some instances.
“But we created plenty of opportunities and we could have had a few more.”
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