Lennon urges Goodwin to learn lesson

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon has urged Jim Goodwin to learn from his mistake after his captain was banned for three games.

Goodwin accepted a two-match suspension from the Scottish Football Association’s compliance officer following an altercation with Steve Jennings during Saturday’s draw against Motherwell.

Television pictures appeared to show the midfielder punch Jennings in the stomach and the Paisley club opted not to contest his ban, which starts during tomorrow’s visit of Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders Rangers.

A yellow card picked up for his initial barge on Jennings also sent him through the disciplinary threshold, resulting in a further game on the sidelines.

Lennon revealed that Goodwin, who netted a spectacular equaliser at Fir Park, apologised to his team-mates and the St Mirren manager told his players they must be more mindful of their actions. He said: “On the whole it’s a bit of a blow for us, especially with what big Jim brings to team.

“But I’ve never been one to worry about something I can’t have. I would rather concentrate on the qualities that I do have to go out there and get the job done.

“I can’t condone what Jim did at all to be perfectly honest. We’ll take that on the chin and we will move on from it. Jim will take his punishment and will learn from it. That’s the biggest thing – that you do learn.

“Whether refereeing decisions go for or against you, you can’t really control that. What you certainly can control is how you react to them and Jim reacted very poorly. He has apologised. He stood up and apologised to all his team-mates and the staff. He knows he’s done wrong and it’s done and dusted.

“We will concentrate on trying to get as many points as we can until he is back available.”

Meanwhile, Lennon, right, revealed that failure to reach agreement over financial terms resulted in his decision to withdraw Ilias Haddad’s contract extension offer.

The 22-year-old Dutch defender’s short-term deal is set to expire next month.

Lennon said: “There were just one or two things coming over on the agreement.

“We couldn’t agree financial terms and there was another thing that didn’t tick the boxes. That didn’t sit comfortably with me and I did what I thought was best for the football club.

“He’s a very good player and he has a lot of qualities. There was just one bit of the ingredients lacking for us at this minute in time.

“I’d like to thank Ilias for everything he has done since he has been here, he’s a terrific professional and he trains very hard and he’s dedicated to the game.

“I just wish in terms of finances that money wasn’t a major issue, that you could still have time to develop the lad.”