Jim Goodwin hails Aberdeen board backing and urges new-look side to go on winning run

Leighton Clarkson's stunning 25-yard free-kick was enough to claim three Premiership points away from home for the first time since another 1-0 win at the same venue back on December 11 last year.

Leighton Clarkson celebrates his goal against St Johnstone

The Pittodrie manager also praised the club's board for allowing him to get the vast majority of transfer business done, including match-winner Clarkson who arrived on loan from Liverpool, well in advance of the window closing on Wednesday night.

And now the Irishman is targeting greater consistency of results to match the performances he feel his group are producing.

Despite two wins from their first four Premiership matches so far this season, Aberdeen have not won back-to-back top-flight fixtures since that last victory over St Johnstone in December.

But with the feel-good factor returning to the Pittodrie ranks, Goodwin is confident of building on the hard-fought win in Perth when David Martindale's side arrive in the north east tomorrow..

“There is a good atmosphere around the place," said Goodwin, whose only fitness concerns are the injured Connor Barron and Callum Roberts.

“The boys are in a buoyant mood as you would imagine off the back of a first win on the road for a helluva long time for this club.

“We are pleased to get three points at what has always been a very difficult place to go for a lot of teams. Very rarely do St Johnstone get turned over significantly on their own patch.

“We were delighted to win the game and we need that little bit of quality from Leighton to do it but we had numerous opportunities to add to the single goal we managed to get.

“Three points on the road is good in this league because it is always very difficult. As a manager, you are grateful to get it and the performance was also very pleasing.”

While Goodwin admitted he is thrilled with the recruitment business he has managed to pull of over the summer, with 11 players arriving at the club while 15 have gone the other way, the Aberdeen manager insisted there may be more players to come through the door at Pittodrie before the window closes next week.

On the club's transfer dealings, Goodwin said: “Everyone deserves credit for that from the director of football to the head of recruitment.

"We have worked tirelessly since I came in in February to strengthen positions that I felt we needed to strengthen. There are not many teams who have done as much business as we have. It is important to remember that we let 15 go – 15 out and 11 in – and I couldn’t be any happier with what we have done. There is still a week left in the window and there will be probably a few going out the way and hopefully one more in.

“We are talking to a few at the moment but there is no panic from our end. You tend to see a lot of teams in the last two or three days scrambling about to find key positions which always baffles me when I see that happening, especially with professional clubs when they have had so long to get their business done.

"We are in a good position. If we get the one in that we want then great, if not we are in a good enough position.

Asked whether a permanent deal for Liam Scales, who is currently on load at Pittodrie from Celtic, could be a possibility, Goodwin replied: “No chance just now. Definitely not.”