Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin may be under intense pressure but he certainly didn’t show it in his first press conference since the Darvel disaster.
Goodwin dodged the axe after the worst result in the club’s 120-year history – the utter embarrassment of losing 1-0 to sixth tier Darvel.
Despite many supporters calling for his dismissal chairman Dave Cormack and the club’s board have opted to stick by the 41-year-old.
However that backing came with a harsh warning from Goodwin of “an immediate response” from the manager and players.
Make no mistake the pressure is just as heavy on Goodwin as it was on Monday night when the referee blew the final whistle on that cup debacle.
As he addressed the written press on Friday afternoon, Goodwin did not have the air of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
If there was an existential crisis regarding his future troubling Goodwin he has a very good way of hiding it.
Goodwin was relaxed and focused.
There was no negativity or evasion. He did not dodge any questions about the precarious nature of his own position.
Of course he may just be a very good actor.
But on the basis of this 20-minute snapshot Goodwin does not appear to be buckling under the pressure.
A lot of ‘soul-searching’ by Goodwin
He did though, admit there had been much ‘soul-searching’ during the last few days.
The outcome of that searching is a determination to prove he is the right man to lead Aberdeen forward despite the abysmal crash in form.
I have been a football writer for more than 20 years and have grown accustomed to seeing that haunted look of a manager broken by pressure.
The dark, sunken eyes, like a good night’s sleep is a long distant memory.
You see the signs when the pressure of the job, the fans’ fury, board’s demands and players not delivering takes its toll.
That is not Goodwin.
Of course, he looked shell-shocked after the 5-0 loss at Hearts and the humiliation at Darvel.
But in Friday’s press conference he appeared rejuvenated, perhaps at the opportunity of a second chance he admits he didn’t really expect.
He admitted it would have been the “easy option” for Cormack and the board to sack him.
After the axe didn’t fall Goodwin looked fired up and ready for the challenge to prove he is the right man for the job.
The defiant manager said he “has never shirked a challenge in his life”.
This will be the biggest footballing challenge of his career to date.
He looks up for the fight.
Whether that will be enough we will find out at Hibs today.
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