Paul Third: Jim Goodwin cannot rewrite his Aberdeen history – but he can learn from it

You have to hand it to the man – if there is one thing Jim Goodwin has never lacked it is confidence.

Just five weeks have passed since Goodwin made the long walk across the Easter Road pitch after being relieved of his duties as Aberdeen manager.

Within minutes of the whistle being blown following the Dons’ 6-0 thrashing Goodwin was pictured walking across the pitch towards his car where he has not been heard from since.

Until Thursday.

While Aberdeen are still searching for his successor Goodwin has had no trouble gaining employment elsewhere at Dundee United.

As luck would have it, his first game in charge of his new club will be against his old former one when United welcome the Dons to Tannadice tomorrow (6pm).

Aberdeen’s decline lasted longer than a week

Thursday was Goodwin’s first day on the new job but given he had been silent since leaving the Dons, much of the focus naturally centred on what went wrong at his last one.

He believes one bad week cost him his job with the heavy defeats in Edinburgh to Hearts and Hibs sandwiched by the worst result in the club’s history, the 1-0 loss at sixth-tier Darvel in the Scottish Cup.

Certainly, the 12 goals shipped in those three morale-sapping defeats did little to help his cause, but Goodwin is kidding himself if he truly believes his departure was due to one bad week.

It is bordering on the deluded to suggest a bad week left him in the mire. The signs all was not well had been clear for some time.

Ironically, the first indicator he had assembled a dysfunctional squad came at the venue he will take charge of today – Tannadice.

It was at the home of United where Aberdeen lost 4-0 to a United team which had failed to win any of their opening eight games of the season and had yet to score a home goal.

Goodwin, consigned to the stand at Tannadice due to a touchline ban, could only sit and watch powerless as his side was ripped apart.

That game in particular resulted in the former Dons boss ripping up his tactics and starting again.

The back four was ditched in favour of a three-man backline and results improved to the point the Dons reached the World Cup break in third place.

But in hindsight, it was a false position and those defensive deficiencies and wretched away form in particular continued to undermine the club.

Post-World Cup results were horrendous

Aberdeen reached the mid-season break with two away wins in the league but their wait for a third victory on the road in the league continues and we’re now in March.

The former Dons boss believes the two home defeats to Celtic and Rangers in December were a turning point.

They were painful losses for sure but it is what happened after those Pittodrie losses which left him in an untenable position.

Goodwin was in charge for 10 games after the break. He won one, drew one and lost the other eight.

It was less a bad week and more a case of a wretched couple of months.

Tannadice trip a chance for Aberdeen to move on from Goodwin era

What’s done is done and both Aberdeen and Goodwin are now focused on different career paths.

Interim boss Barry Robson has steadied the Dons ship somewhat with two wins from his four games in charge.

A rare win on the road tomorrow would keep that momentum going and reinforce the notion the Dons are moving on from the Goodwin era.

Doing so at the expense of their former manager seems appropriate somehow.

Given the tribal nature of the game no doubt the travelling Red Army will be salivating at the chance to get one over on their former boss tomorrow too.

Has the former Dons boss learned from his mistakes?

Aberdeen have 11 games left to make the top four. Goodwin has 12 remaining to keep United in the Premiership.

He struggled to get the best out of a squad he inherited when he arrived at Pittodrie in February last year.

Despite a summer rebuild and a promising start he was also unable to lift the squad when the confidence started to drain with each passing game this season.

Reversing that trend with a new group of players is his task with his new club and Goodwin is certainly fancying his chances.

Call it ego, call it confidence, but Goodwin is blessed with that unshakeable belief he can succeed where others have failed in getting more out of this United team than his predecessors Liam Fox and Jack Ross.

If he can pull it off then maybe he has learned lessons from his time at Pittodrie.

United fans will certainly be hoping that is the case.