Aberdeen: If Derek McInnes moves to Sunderland he would help find a successor

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes will hold talks with Sunderland over their managerial vacancy

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes will help to identify his successor if he decides to move to Sunderland.

The two clubs agreed compensation, allowing the English side to speak to McInnes about their managerial vacancy.

Aberdeen director Dave Cormack said they will "move heaven and earth" to try to retain McInnes, but have plans in place for seeking a replacement.

"It's incumbent upon us to have the existing manager involved," Cormack said.

"Any business - and I come from the software world - has succession planning in it.

"So as far as I understand, over time succession planning involves the existing management. We haven't got a specific list but we've looked at plans and succession."

Aberdeen "reluctantly" granted Sunderland permission to speak to McInnes and his assistant Tony Docherty. The Championship club are looking for a successor to David Moyes, who left following relegation at the end of last season.

Aberdeen's new major shareholder and director Dave Cormack will invest "several million" in the club

Cormack sold his software company for £630m last year and the former Pittodrie chief executive has returned to the club as a major shareholder and non-executive director.

He intends to play an active role in the club's development, particularly in the implementation of a marketing system to engage with supporters and seeking investment and partnership agreements in the US, where Cormack lives.

"I feel that I can add some value here, apart from the money. I don't like giving specific amounts but I'm coming in as a major shareholder, so it's several millions," Cormack said.

"It's taken the club many years to get to the position where we're able to write off the debt and get to where we are today.

"We need to be sensible, but we've got the investment there to use both for the capital project that's coming up - particularly phase one with the training and community facility - and also from an operational standpoint, in particular the football operation."

'Pittodrie is not fit for purpose'

Cormack is eager to harness his American business connections to generate further investment into the club, and insists the proposed move to a new £50m stadium is vital to achieve that aim.

"Moving to a new stadium is crucial," Cormack said. "One of my remits is going to be looking for partnerships and investments in the States.

A new image of the plans for Aberdeen's proposed stadium were released earlier this year

"There are a lot of people there that love to be involved in sports clubs in the UK. Many of these Americans are golfers, and we have a lot to offer here in Scotland and the Aberdeen area.

"If we're going to attract investment, though, they'll look at it as investment, and Pittodrie just doesn't stack up. We all love Pittodrie, but it's not fit for purpose. By that, I mean there's only a small footprint that's here, there's only so much we can do.

"From a commercial standpoint, from a corporate perspective, the stadium is 100-plus years old. The new stadium is certainly necessary for us to kick on and bring in other investment."