The midfield stalwart admits the club’s start to the Championship campaign has been sub-standard, but says today’s Petrofac Training Cup quarter-final clash is the perfect opportunity to kickstart the Paisley side’s season.

St Mirren face a tricky run of fixtures against the likes of Rangers, Hibernian and Falkirk in the coming weeks.

Goodwin conceded there is no time like the present for the Buddies to kick-on.

He told Gazette Sport: “We need a win don’t we?

“We need a win regardless of what competition it’s in and we need to try and hopefully go and win on Saturday and take confidence from that and carry it on into the league the following week.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to get into a cup semi-final and we have been trying to reiterate that all week.

“Regardless of whether you are one of the young boys or one of the experienced boys it is a great opportunity to go and win a trophy.” The Irishman rebuffed claims that the dressing room head’s have dropped in recent weeks following a poor run of results which leave St Mirren in eighth position.

A mixture of youth and experience has yet to reap the results on the park, but Goodwin insists it will only be a matter of time.

He added: “It is frustrating but we are still a very positive bunch. We are a very optimistic that we can turn it around.

“We’ve had a lot of bad luck lately.

“I personally believe we are in a false position and I do believe we will turn the corner, I have no doubt about that.” Today’s fixture provides a great opportunity for players and supporters alike to take their mind off the league campaign.

With a semi-final place up for grabs, Goodwin revealed the side will be going all-out to secure their semi-final spot.

He continued: “It might not be considered one of the major trophies in this country but at the same time it is a competition that gets good coverage and one that is not easy to win, that’s for sure, which we will find out against a very good Dunfermline side.

“It is a great opportunity. I’ve tried to explain to the young boys when you win something like that you can get the bug for it. They are great days out when you can get to cup finals so hopefully we can do that this year.

“Thee supporters pay good money to come and see us and unfortunately at the moment we haven’t given them much to go home happy about.

“Hopefully we can change that.”