ST MIRREN manager Jim Goodwin admitted his side are in no position to sell, after Hibernian stepped up their pursuit of his captain Kyle Magennis.

Goodwin revealed Magennis has been the subject of two bids from Easter Road.

Hibs manager Jack Ross has previously worked with the midfielder and is keen to add to his midfield options before the end of the window.

And while he joked his side are becoming something of a feeder club to the capital club, Goodwin acknowledged that inevitably some players will move onto bigger clubs, but only when the time is right.

“We’re realistic to know that they’re bigger clubs than ours [Aberdeen and Hibs] at the moment and there’s no getting away from that”, Goodwin said.

“Obviously when players get an interest from one of those two teams then inevitably they quite like the idea of going there because they probably see it as a better opportunity, a bigger club and a bigger fan base and everything that goes with it. “He’s worked closely with Jack Ross in the past, he knows Paul McGinn, he’ll know Darren McGregor. There’s a number of things that would be appealing to Kyle, no doubt.

“If it all works out financially for the club and the club get a good enough sum on the back of it like we did with John [McGinn] and Kenny [McLean]then it can be a win-win situation for everybody. But right now, at this moment in time, with the situation we’re in with a really tight squad, we cannot afford to let Kyle leave.

“Thankfully, the club have backed me on this, and they want to see Magennis back out in a St Mirren shirt and not pulling on a Hibs one.”

Magennis, 22, is a product of the Buddies’ youth academy. He has spent his whole career in Paisley and won the Championship with St Mirren under the management of Ross.

But since January the midfielder has been in rehabilitation from a knee injury sustained in a match with Rangers.

Goodwin believes Magennis, who is in the final year of his contract at St Mirren, does not want to leave the club before he can help them turnover their poor start to the season.

“Kyle has a real sense of loyalty to St Mirren no doubt,” said Goodwin. “He’s been here for a long time, I’ve made him club captain for a reason because I believe he is our best player and I believe when he’s playing at the level he’s capable of he’s very influential on the park and we’re not in a position to sell right now, it’s as simple as that. “We’ve got a small squad as it is, and it wouldn’t give us enough time between now and the October 5 to replace him. I don’t think there is any point sitting with money in the bank when we need to invest in the team, and we need to keep our players. “I think Kyle feels as if he owes us a little something as well in terms of wanting to stay and help us climb the table. I do believe that if Kyle gets back and shows the level of form that he is capable of, in January there will be numerous other clubs enquiring about him.

“I think as a club that’s what we should be looking at. Accepting an offer from one club that is showing interest wouldn’t be good business for me. I think if we want to sell Kyle then we need to market him properly and we haven’t even begun to do that because he’s not back fully fit yet.”