Aberdeen: What Neil Warnock will bring to Pittodrie job
- Published
Aberdeen will be the 16th club Warnock has managed in a long career
"I applied for the Aberdeen job once and didn't even get a reply, which I thought was really bad manners," Neil Warnock told the BBC podcast Sacked in the Morning in November.
Well, that discourtesy seems to have been forgotten, with the 75-year-old stepping in as interim manager at Pittodrie for the rest of the season.
The veteran brings vast experience, having overseen a record number of games in English football.
And he will also bring forthright opinions and plenty of passion - but what else can Dons supporters expect from the man who has replaced Barry Robson?
Can Warnock find another bounce?
"The last few years, I've gone in as a Red Adair, putting fires out," Warnock said in that BBC interview.
"I've always enjoyed the challenge of going into a club where confidence is low and building things back up."
While Pittodrie is not exactly ablaze with problems, he is inheriting an underperforming squad that has won just six of their 22 Premiership matches.
There may be a few surprises in store from the man who introduced drinking raw egg and sherry before games at Scarborough and once walked over Notts County players' backs with his boots on for a rudimentary lesson in the need to suffer on the path to success.
After joining Huddersfield Town at this time last year, Warnock kept them in the Championship despite dropping seven points adrift of safety during his first few weeks, so he has recent 'bounce' credentials.
Before that, he lifted Middlesbrough to safety in the same division, taking them from 21st to 17th over eight games.
Quick character appraisal
Warnock has masterminded eight promotions during his 1,626 matches as a manager, including taking Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City to the Premier League.
There have been a few relegations too across the years.
Warnock likes to make an initial assessment of his new squad in what he calls "a no-holds barred" training match.
"Put your pads on, 25-30 minutes is plenty of time in the kind of game I like," he explained with a chuckle. "I can get a good feeling for the lads who don't want to head it, don't want to tackle."
It's then that he will make his decisions over tactics and formation, because the Englishman is not constrained by a rigid philosophy.
"Some have preferred systems, but I've always gone in and looked at the players to find a formula that gets all their strengths on board," he said.
"I've never gone in and said 'we're going to play this way'. I just try to eliminate as many weaknesses as I can.
"The game may have changed a lot since I started, but 90-95% of being successful is still man management, getting the best out of what you've got."
Light relief to lift players?
Across a managerial career that started in 1981, Warnock estimates he has retired "about five times", but enthusiasm for the sport he loves keeps bringing him back.
"There's so many bland managers now," he said. "I think a manager has to bring a bit of brightness.
"I like to make the lads enjoy it, with a bit of humour."
Part of the fun is choosing a favourite player, which was "likeable rogue" Michael Brown at Sheffield United and "unbelievable talent" Adel Taarabt at QPR - so who will be picked as the teacher's pet at Pittodrie?
Will it be skipper Graeme Shinnie, who appears to have lost some of his drive? Or Connor Barron, the midfield talent who could walk away under freedom of contract at the end of the season? Perhaps it will be striker Bojan Miovski, who has 19 goals to his name already this season.
Warnock brought Junior Hoilett in from the cold to great effect at QPR, so could there be a chance for Duk to rediscover the excellent form of last season?
Remember, it's a temporary fix
Sitting eighth, Aberdeen are six points above the relegation play-off spot and eight points off fourth place - albeit with games in hand on most of the teams above them.
There were signs of promise during the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to leaders Celtic when the shackles came off.
Warnock's first task is a daunting trip to Ibrox on Tuesday, but then comes a run of three home games, starting with Bonnyrigg Rose in the Scottish Cup, when we will start to discover who impressed in the ferocious training match.
The logic behind the 'Red Adair' appointment may be slightly puzzling from the outside, but the outspoken Yorkshireman has proved in the past he has the tools to light up the current gloom at Pittodrie, even if he is just keeping the seat warm for someone else.
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