Goodwin pleased with Metsoko display in United win

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin praised Idjessi Metsoko for making the most of a rare opportunity in the 3-0 win over St Mirren. The Togo international was handed just a second league start following his summer move from Viktoria Plzen on a season-long loan and provided the assist for Lyall Cameron's goal. And Goodwin revealed Metsoko had caught the eye with an all-round purposeful display. He said: "I'm really pleased for Metsoko. I thought he was a real handful all afternoon and his link-up play was nice and clean. "All the players that we've brought here and recruited over the summer, they've all come here to play. So, Jessi has had to be patient. "We felt this was a good opportunity to put him in from the start and see how he coped against an extremely physical backline. Alex Gogic is one of the most physical defenders in the league and I thought Jessi was excellent up against him. "Not just his all-round physicality but also his willingness to stretch the game at times, to run in behind, plus he's got good pace and mobility. "His tidiness in possession in terms of his link-up play with the midfielders around him was excellent. I thought his all-round game was very, very good." This was just United's second league win of the season but Goodwin insists he was never worried even during a tough start. He added: "I don't tend to put too much focus on the actual league table until the first round of fixtures has passed. I don't think we've performed terribly over the course of the campaign. "The one criticism I could say is that we haven't been clinical or ruthless enough. And for us to be able to contain a team of St Mirren's quality and not allow them a single shot on target at 90 minutes, I think is great credit to the team."