Neil Warnock: Aberdeen appoint veteran as interim manager
- Published
- comments
Warnock says he hopes he "can put a smile on the faces" of Aberdeen fans
Aberdeen have named Neil Warnock as their interim manager and expect to appoint a new boss for the 2024-25 campaign before the end of this season.
The 75-year-old takes over from Barry Robson, who was sacked last week after a year in charge with the Dons eighth in the Scottish Premiership.
Warnock will be in charge for Tuesday's league game against Rangers at Ibrox.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenge - Aberdeen is a big club with clear ambition," he said.
His assistant Ronnie Jepson has also joined Aberdeen while Peter Leven will continue as first-team coach.
The Yorkshireman came out of retirement a year ago and kept Huddersfield Town in the Championship but left the job last September.
"I've made no secret of the fact I've always wanted to manage in Scotland so when I spoke to Dave [Cormack, chairman] and Alan [Burrows, chief executive] and they asked me to help out it just felt like the right opportunity," he added.
"By all accounts there is a good group of lads here and it's my job now to get the best out of them.
"I'm hoping that during my time here the supporters will get behind the team and I can put a smile on their faces."
Robson followed Derek McInnes, Stephen Glass and Jim Goodwin in leaving the role around this time of the year for the fourth consecutive season.
Aberdeen say the appointment gives them time to carry out the detailed review of the football operation that began at the end of 2023 and which chairman Dave Cormack says will include "benchmarking the club against similar teams that outperform us in Europe".
Warnock holds the record for the most league games managed in English league football - a remarkable total of 1,626 - during his time at 15 clubs and has masterminded eight promotions.
His previous job at Huddersfield was his second spell with the Terriers, who he got promoted to the English second tier in 1995.
Warnock has also had two stints with Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers, leading the latter back to the top flight in 2011.
He also won promotion to the Premier League with Sheffield United and Cardiff City and early in his career took Scarborough into the Football League and enjoyed successive promotions with Notts County.
"From the moment we first spoke with Neil his enthusiasm for managing Aberdeen was infectious," Cormack said.
"He has had an incredible career, not only in terms of volume of games and winning promotions, but also of coming into clubs at short notice and making an immediate impact."
'A manager you'd want to play for'
Tyrone Smith, BBC Scotland
Neil Warnock is a legendary figure in British football and there was a real sense of anticipation among the assembled journalists before he faced the media at Aberdeen's Cormack Park training ground.
As he embarked on his first duties in his 20th managerial job in a dugout career that stretches back to 1980, I got a real sense that not only is he going to be a breath of fresh air for the Dons, but for Scottish football as a whole.
At 75, he may be in the latter stages of his career, but you could detect a real excitement from him about the fact he is finally getting the chance to do something he has always wanted to do - manage in Scotland.
That shone through as he revealed his move to the Granite City is nothing to do with money - pointing out he has had more lucrative offers in England over the last few months.
Warnock believes successful management remains "90-95% man management" and I left Cormack Park thinking if I was a player, Warnock would be the kind of manager I'd want to play for.
It felt telling when he said if the players give him everything he "will man their corner".
The Englishman may only be gracing the Scottish Premiership for a relatively short time, but it seems likely he will make his mark.
When asked what would constitute success for him at Aberdeen, he said with a twinkle in his eye "finishing as high as we can and winning the cup". If he can deliver on that, he will return to England with a very significant place in the Pittodrie history books secure.
Our coverage of Aberdeen is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment