Aberdeen: Pressure on board to get next managerial call right after Barry Robson exit
- Published
The highs and lows of Robson's Aberdeen tenure
The task of appointing a fourth Aberdeen manager has fallen in the lap of Dave Cormack.
It's certainly not how the Pittodrie chairman would have envisaged the first four years of his tenure after replacing Stewart Milne at the end of 2019.
Since March 2021, Derek McInnes' eight-year stay has come to an end and been followed by the 11-month reigns of Stephen Glass and Jim Goodwin.
Barry Robson managed a year, although three months were on an interim basis, but he became the third man sacked as Tuesday's draw with Dundee left the Dons just five points off the relegation play-off place after 21 league games.
At some stage, questions from fans can be expected to steer away from the dugout and towards a boardroom now tasked with appointing a fourth first-team boss in less than three years.
That time has come. Now the Aberdeen hierarchy face more intense pressure to get the next call right.
More questions for under-fire board
The draw with Dundee that ended Robson's Dons reign
When McInnes and Aberdeen parted ways, Cormack said it was the "right time" for the manager to end his long-term reign.
That was a feeling shared by many but there has been very little on-field improvement since he left.
In that time McInnes has been appointed Kilmarnock manager, got them promoted, secured Premiership survival, and took them to their current placing of fourth - four places and eight points above the Dons - Aberdeen have burned through three managers.
The first of those was rookie manager Glass, a "family friend", external of Cormack. The Dons chairman said the ex-Aberdeen midfielder was the "outstanding candidate" from a "number of emerging, highly talented, driven and ambitious coaches" interviewed. Glass was sacked 11 months later with the club ninth in the table.
Goodwin was then prised from St Mirren, but he also managed just 11 months before his spell was brought to an end in humiliation with big defeats by Hearts and Hibernian bookending a Scottish Cup exit to sixth-tier Darvel.
And Robson became number four on Wednesday, a day after a 1-1 draw with Dundee that left the Dons eighth in the Premiership.
Cormack says he accepts responsibility for the "managerial upheavals" in recent years. "It's exhausting for everyone to go through," he added. "Not least our fans and the managers who gave their all and lost their jobs."
Where did it go wrong for Robson?
It all feels so long ago now, but it's worth remembering Robson's tenure kicked off brilliantly. So much so, he landed a two-year contract in May.
His early impact lifted the Dons from seventh to third with a run that included seven successive Premiership victories, securing European group-stage football for the first time since 2008.
That continental football came in the Europa Conference League as Aberdeen missed out on a Europa League place after losing a play-off against Swedish side Hacken.
The Dons would head out of Europe after finishing third in their section, despite some impressive results and performances in a tough group with PAOK, Eintracht Frankfurt and HJK Helsinki.
Robson regularly bemoaned a packed schedule, caused by the European fixtures, for his side's poor league form, but still led his team to December's Viaplay Cup final, which ended in a narrow defeat by Rangers.
Aberdeen's approach in that Hampden loss, where they failed to register a shot on target, was heavily criticised and the goodwill of the fans started to wear thin as league form continued to stutter amid a turgid and direct style of play.
Six wins and six draws from 21 league games has mustered just 24 points, their lowest tally at this stage of a season in 12 years.
So, who's next?
There have been immediate links with Neil Warnock., external Not only would it be a box-office appointment, but he's a manager with a huge bank of experience and success.
But at the age of 75, it would scream short-term thinking. With the club suffering from a bit of an identity crisis, Aberdeen need to be thinking long term.
If an interim appointment like Warnock allows them to do that, fair enough - but fans will be wary of another temporary stint leading to a permanent deal, then finding themselves back in a similar position again in 12 months.
The names of Alex Neil and Neil Lennon have proven popular among the Dons support.
Neil consistently punched above his weight as Hamilton boss before spending eight years south of the border with Norwich, Preston, Sunderland and Stoke, enjoying spells of Championship success and gaining Premier League experience.
Lennon, a serial winner as Celtic captain and manager, has been out of work since being sacked after just seven months in charge of Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia in October 2022.
You can probably expect to see links with Stephen Robinson, given the Motherwell connection with chief executive Alan Burrows, but who would blame Dons fans for being uneasy about taking another manager from St Mirren?
More names will inevitably emerge in the coming days and the Aberdeen board must make sure they land on the right one.
A potential relegation scrap seems unthinkable for this squad, but Dundee United's demotion at the end of last season should be warning enough that Aberdeen are not immune from such a catastrophe either.
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