What now for Aberdeen after Stephen Glass sacking?
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Who should be next Aberdeen boss? - Sportscene analysis
"I know the chairman pretty well - he's a family friend - but I'm under no illusions that, if I'm not successful at this club, I know what happens to managers. That's real."
Those were Stephen Glass' words when he was appointed Aberdeen manager by Dave Cormack in March 2021. Just 11 months after succeeding Derek McInnes, Glass' tenure is over.
Saturday's Scottish Cup exit to Motherwell proved to be the final straw with Aberdeen ninth in the Scottish Premiership and having crashed out of both domestic knockout competitions early.
What went wrong for Glass at Pittodrie? And who might the club go for next to restore their fortunes?
Fleeting success
Having taken over with six league games remaining last season and kept Aberdeen in fourth place, Glass reshaped the squad in the summer, with Scott Brown, Christian Ramirez, Declan Gallagher and David Bates among a raft of arrivals.
There was a wave of optimism around Glass' Aberdeen at the beginning of the new campaign. Swedish side Hacken were thumped 5-1 at Pittodrie as the Dons began their Europa Conference League bid in style, marching to the verge of a group-stage place before starting the Premiership campaign with two wins from two.
But, after beating Iceland's Breidablik to set up a play-off tie with Qarabag of Azerbaijan, their fortunes began to unravel.
Glass' side wouldn't win again until October, 11 games later. In that spell, they tumbled out of the League Cup to Championship side Raith Rovers, were outplayed by Qarabag and fell from joint top of the Premiership to ninth.
They had some high points - wins over Hearts and Hibs either side of a draw at Ibrox and a December that brought five victories from six. But, by the time of Glass' departure, they were back in ninth and had suffered four defeats in a five-game winless run.
Leaky defence and travel sickness
Aberdeen have had just two domestic away wins all season and picked up only nine points from 39 on the road. It was little surprise that their away-day blues continued in Lanarkshire on Saturday, with Ramirez's early goal soon cancelled out as Aberdeen were beaten by Motherwell for the third time this season.
A leaky defence has been cause for concern, with Aberdeen losing an average of 1.35 goals a game and keeping just five clean sheets in 34 games in all competitions.
A chronic lack of creativity is another glaring issue for Glass' successor to attempt to fix. Injuries to forward Marley Watkins and the departure of Wales midfielder Ryan Hedges in January haven't helped.
However, Ramirez - signed by Glass last summer - has been the club's shining light, the American scoring his 15th of the season in the cup loss to Motherwell.
'Cormack had to act after fans' anger'
Former Aberdeen captain and manager Willie Miller on BBC Radio Sportsound
I watched the fans and how they reacted after the defeat by Motherwell and the chairman was there too. When the fans start to turn like then, chairman tend to react.
There has been some good performances, some ordinary and recently some poor ones, particularly away from home against St Mirren and Livingston. When you go to these grounds, you've got to have mental strength and I didn't feel the team showed that.
Fans need something to hold on to, they need hope and, when your league form is diminishing and you're sitting in ninth, you need a cup run to keep the optimism going.
I'm disappointed for Stephen. I'm led to believe the coaching was of a high level, but the most important thing is 'are you a manager that can get results?'
Saturday's Scottish Cup defeat by Motherwell was the final match in charge of Aberdeen for Stephen Glass
Safe hands or another risk?
When Glass was appointed, Cormack said he had been the "outstanding candidate", describing him as "a bright, young, emerging manager" with a commitment to playing "exciting, attacking football".
In the wake of the failed gamble - Glass' only previous full-time stint as a manager was at Atlanta United 2 in America's second tier - the smart money is on the club opting for someone with more of a track record.
Out-of-work managers with knowledge of the Scottish game will be interested. Expect recently-departed Hibernian head coach Jack Ross to be hotly tipped, while former Celtic boss Neil Lennon may well fancy a reunion with his former Celtic captain Brown.
Some who are in position at other clubs may be tempted too. St Mirren's Jim Goodwin is highly regarded and has his side three places above Aberdeen in the table, while Paul Hartley has many friends at Pittodrie as he steers League 1 leaders Cove Rangers up the divisions.
Aberdeen legend Miller believes Cormack must go for experience and says Goodwin "has done a good job and should be considered".
"I think an experienced manager brings a different challenge to a chairman and board and might challenge them a bit more," he adds.
Or do Aberdeen look further afield?
Kjetil Knutsen will be in Scotland this week with Celtic's Europa Conference League opponents, Bodo/Glimt. In 2020, the Norwegian led the minnows to their first-ever title in his homeland. It has been 23 years since Aberdeen went for a foreign manager for the first and only time in their history when Denmark's Ebbe Skovdahl was brought to the north-east.
On 26 February, the club's most successful manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, will be back in the Granite City to take in the game with Dundee United and unveil a statue in his honour. What chance one last hurrah, Fergie?