Willo Flood has seen at close quarters the effect David Goodwillie is having on the Aberdeen team and he is convinced that once the striker scores his first goal for the club he will attract plenty of attention and build on his early reputation as a striker to be feared.

Flood has been round the block a few times, from Manchester City to Cardiff City, two spells at Dundee United and Middlesbrough and Celtic in between before taking up residence at Aberdeen, where his energy and enthusiasm are appreciated.

In Goodwillie, with whom he shared a dressing room at Tannadice, he sees a player as hungry for goals as he is eager to show that his unhappy three-year spell at Blackburn Rovers was a blip from which he has recovered.

"I've seen enough from Goody in the last month or so to convince me he will score a lot of goals for Aberdeen," Flood insisted. "He's done really well in training, but obviously in the last few years he hasn't had enough game time but I'm sure he will get that here. I have no doubts that he will be right up there with the top goal scorers along with Niall McGinn and Adam Rooney.

"People could see in the home leg of our Europa League qualifier against Real Sociedad that he was coming into his form and what he can offer this club. At Dundee United, the team didn't play all that well and we probably let him down, but he will definitely score goals."

Flood recalled that, under Strachan at Middlesbrough, he had experienced misery and pain through injury and was pleased Goodwillie at least didn't have to face a similar problems at Ewood Park.

He said: "His experience in England was a bit different from mine as I had one or two bad injuries because I did my cruciate and had a patella reconstruction. I tried to get confidence by getting back playing and while he hasn't had the games, thankfully he hasn't had the injuries to contend with.

"That's why I expect him to get back to top form quicker than I did and if he starts scoring for Aberdeen I can't see why he can't get back into the Scotland squad."

Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, is also a member of the Goodwillie fan club, hence his reason for choosing him ahead of Rooney this season, and he is not concerned that the player has yet to hit the net.

"He's only had three starts," McInnes said. "So, I'm not going to get too hung up on the fact that he hasn't had a goal yet. For me, he doesn't always have to score as long as his performance is there.

"He recognises where to work and offers himself in behind. He's strong when the ball's into feet and the goals will come for him. I've no fear about that."

As the Irish midfielder was offering hope for one fellow player, he empathised with Robert Snodgrass, now on the road of rehabilitation having experienced a similar injury to the one that kept him out of football for six months.

Flood had little comfort to offer the Scotland star, who is now battling his way back from a shattered knee injury of the type he suffered on Teesside.

The £7m Scotland midfielder, he said, injured two weeks after joining Hull City, faces a long and hard road back to fitness.

He said: "I was lucky that I had really good help at Middlesbrough. I was on a machine for six to eight hours a day after my surgery just to move the knee and get it bending again.

"After that it was a case of cycling and walking along with leg exercises and I just couldn't wait to get back on that training pitch. Even just to get out running alongside the lads again was great because it really is a long process to get back.

"It definitely challenges you mentally but you are a stronger person for it when you come through something like that. It was the third time I had done something like that as it happened twice before when I was a young kid.

"The initial few games back there is that thing in the back of your mind wondering if your knee will be okay, but after that you don't even think about it. I was out for six months that last time but the surgeon did a great job reconstructing my knee and thankfully I haven't had any problems since."