Jim Goodwin has called on his St Mirren team-mates to look upon the remainder of the season as a dozen cup finals.

The Irish midfielder appreciates the precariousness of the Paisley side's league position and, as they head to Pittodrie to face Derek McInnes' impressive Aberdeen outfit this afternoon, he has urged the Saints not to panic in the face of a relegation fight.

Alan Gow has been brought in by caretaker boss Gary Teale and, should his international clearance go through in time, he will be in the squad for the game against the Dons.

And Goodwin knows that Saints need all the help they can get. He said: "It is a cliché, but it is 12 cup finals for us. We have spoken about it in the dressing room and it is vital that we don't let the heads go down.

"At the start of the season you would never set out to find yourself in this kind of situation, but there is nothing we can do about it now except try and get ourselves out of it.

"It is hard to put a finger on why we are where we are. There are a multitude of reasons, but by far the most important thing now is that we work on getting the points that will start to propel us up the table.

"Having fresh faces come in to help us with that challenge can only be a good thing. It gives everyone a bit of a lift to have someone else come in."

And Goodwin wants Saints to put the shackles on Kenny McLean as the former Paisley midfielder squares up to his former team-mates.

McLean, arguably St Mirren's best player this season until he moved north during last month's transfer window, has slotted into the Pittodrie side and although Goodwin expects him to sustain the early impact he has made with Aberdeen, he is optimisticSaints will know how to handle him.

"We all know how good a player Kenny is and I was gutted to see him leave the club in January because he was very consistent for us all season," said Goodwin.

"But the good thing is that we know Kenny's game inside out. That doesn't mean he can't hurt us because we know what he is capable of, but at the same time we do have a bit of an advantage in that we can predict how he might play.

"We know he is dangerous and that we can't afford to give him any time on the ball. It will be strange to play against him so quickly, but that is football. Players move on all the time and we wish him the very best of luck at Aberdeen - just not today."

Teale, meanwhile, will watch from the stands after being hit with a touchline ban and the onus will be on Goodwin to help direct things from the middle of the park.

"It is just one of those things," said the Irishman. "He'd prefer to be there in the dug-out, but we just need to get on with it. Aberdeen are a very good side and they are full of confidence because of the season they are enjoying.

"But we have to be confident and feel that we can go there and do ourselves justice."