The Dons produced five terrific first half goals at Stirling Albion on Tuesday, leaving Jim Goodwin to enthuse over the performance of his team.

“I thought it was brilliant. The right attitude, we showed urgency, a good tempo, all the things you’re looking for. There was good intensity in the build up play, terrific movement at the top end of the pitch, and then some really good goals on top of that. It’s a pity we didn’t get a couple more goals in the second half, but I think it’s only natural that the tempo decreases a little bit at 5-0 up.

“We’re still trying to get that match fitness we need through the squad, I made a few changes to help with that which disrupts things a little bit. Three wins, nine goals, three clean sheets is a good start, albeit, with all due respect, we know the level of opposition.

“There was some good movement at the top end, guys making great runs, and we’ve concentrated on that in training. We’ve not spent a lot of time on defensive shape because of the nature of the opposition and how we felt things would pan out. We’ll be working on defensive transitions a bit more ahead of Sunday and then ahead of Celtic because obviously the level of opposition in the league is very different.

“Obviously Liam Scales won’t be available at Celtic, so Ross McCrorie played there for a spell in the second half tonight. He’s played a lot of football at centre-back, and is very good at it. I like him in the middle of the pitch because of his energy levels and determination to get the ball back. We’ll see. We’ve got David Bates and Jack Milne too, so we’ll see how we go. But Scales and Stewart have settled together nicely, they complement each other and hopefully they can build a very good partnership.”

One of the stars of the show was Jonny Hayes with another terrific display that rolled back the years.

“Jonny Hayes has come back in brilliant shape, which is what I wanted. Age means nothing with Jonny if he keeps doing what he’s doing, it’s only a number. He’s a great role model for the young boys, that if you look after yourself, you give yourself a chance of longevity in the game. As much as the new guys are exciting us, and the quality of the boys we’ve brought in is creating optimism, guys like Jonny and Matty who have been here a while are showing the quality they have too.

“It was good to get Luis on the pitch. He’s a mile off in term of fitness, he’s had three training sessions in six weeks, we knew all that bringing him in. He makes some really clever runs, very quick, very dynamic over five or ten yards, if we get the service to him in behind the opposition, he’ll be very hard to catch. He’s got a hell of a strike on him, we’ve seen glimpses of his quality in training, he’s exciting.

“He’s different to what we’ve got. Miovski will be an out and out number nine with the physical presence, Ramirez deserves special mention because he’s come back with the bit between his teeth and scored a few goals already, so we’ve got good options.

“We’re still a bit light in the middle of the park and like every manager, I’m always a bit greedy at the top end of the pitch, you always want more options and goal scorers. Bringing three more in would be fantastic, but there is still plenty of time before the end of August.”

Reporting on the injuries to Connor Barron and Jack MacKenzie, there’s mostly positive news on that front too.

“Connor had a little setback, he played a behind closed doors friendly on Saturday and just tweaked the inside of his knee so he’ll be missing for a couple more weeks. It’s nothing major but the Celtic game might just come too soon for him. Jack should be back with us after Raith, but Mason has stepped up, as have all the Academy boys, so I’m pleased with how things are going.”