Christian Ramirez has been told he must work harder and wait for his chance after dropping down the pecking order at Aberdeen.
The American striker, who finished as the club’s second leading goalscorer behind Lewis Ferguson last season, has lost his place in the team following the arrival of Bojan Miovski.
With six goals in seven games for the Dons Miovski has firmly established himself as the new number nine at Pittodrie after taking Ramirez’s squad number and position in the team.
The increased competition for places has been so strong Ramirez has failed to make the bench for the last two games, leading to speculation he would leave the club.
But despite reports of deadline day interest from Hearts in the attacker, the window closed on Thursday with Ramirez still at Pittodrie.
Dons boss Jim Goodwin has urged the American to put his focus into showing he is up for the fight of challenging Miovski for the striker position.
The Aberdeen manager said: “There’s been no issue with myself and Christian.
“There have been a lot of speculation and rumours about myself and him but we’ve got a decent relationship.
“Obviously he’s been disappointed not to be the main striker at the moment but Bojan Miovski’s got the shirt and I think people who have been to any of Aberdeen’s games since the start of this season could see why we’ve made the level of investment we made in him.
“I’ve got a good working relationship with all the players. Everyone wants to play but unfortunately you can only pick 11 and you can only have nine on the bench.
“People who aren’t involved need to be patient, they need to knuckle down, they need to work harder and try and force their way into the team.”
Stats show Aberdeen striker’s form has dipped
Ramirez’s goals for Aberdeen were pivotal in the first half of the season but he struggled following Goodwin’s arrival as Stephen Glass’ successor in February.
The Dons boss knows all about the scoring prowess of the striker, a star signing from Houston Dynamo last summer, but believes Ramirez’s return has not been good enough to stay in the team.
Goodwin said: “I’ve been very honest with all the players who’ve been here since I came in the door and that will always remain the case.
“Since I’ve come to the club, people have told me about the good things Christian did in the first half of last season.
“But I’m judging the players on what I’ve seen since I’ve been at the club since February and unfortunately Christian’s goals-to-games return hasn’t been where I feel it needs to be to be my main striker.”
Goodwin wary of Ross County threat
With Ramirez kicking his heels for now Miovski will lead the line again at Ross County on Saturday.
The Staggies have struggled to get their season going so far, having won just once in the league. Their Premier Sports Cup hopes were also brought to an end by Celtic as the holders ran out 4-1 winners in Dingwall on Wednesday.
Goodwin, however, expects a stern test from the Staggies on Saturday.
He said: “I thought they were excellent for large parts of the game against Celtic on Wednesday. I met the analyst this morning and we went through their games so far this season.
“They are a good side. Malky Mackay has got them organised, they are a very aggressive team and compete really well when they don’t have the ball.
“There are some good players there when they do have possession too.
“Malky has recruited well. They’ve got really good pace and trickery in the wide areas and a couple of physical strikers so we’re going to have to be up for the battle first and foremost.
“That’s always the case whether you are playing against Motherwell, Livingston or Ross County.
“It’s always been a difficult venue to go to but we’re in a good place just now. There’s confidence in the group and we have to go there believing we are capable of winning the game.”