New manager Stephen Glass is desperate to make his mark immediately at Aberdeen, insists interim boss Paul Sheerin.
However, Glass has had to suffer the frustration of his Pittodrie management career being briefly delayed as he self isolates due to Covid-19 quarantine regulations.
The former Altanta United 2 boss has to undergo 10 days of quarantine having flown into Scotland last week from the United States.
The 44-year-old will be absent from today’s clash at St Johnstone and will experience the surreal situation of watching the action from Perth remotely from his hotel room.
He also had to watch the 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat of League One Dumbarton from afar.
On Tuesday, Glass will finally begin working with the Dons squad when his quarantine period finishes.
Interim boss Sheerin will be in the dugout in Perth today as he takes charge for a third game since former manager Derek McInnes’ exit last month.
He aims to hand over a squad to Glass buoyed with the momentum of back-to-back wins.
Sheerin said: “It is a strange situation, because I know Stephen is desperate to get in and get involved.
“He’s desperate to make his mark and hit the ground running.
“Stephen has spoken to the players.
“He is probably frustrated that he is in quarantine, but hopefully we can give him a good platform for coming in with two wins in a row.”
Glass has already appointed England squad striker coach Allan Russell as his assistant and Celtic skipper Scott Brown will join in a player-coach role in the summer.
New Pittodrie gaffer Glass arrived in Scotland on the eve of the 1-0 third round Scottish Cup win over Dumbarton at the Rock.
Glass reassured Sheerin he would not interfere in team selection or tactics while in quarantine and has been true to his word.
However, Sheerin revealed Glass has been monitoring training closely – via footage of sessions this week.
He said: “From Stephen’s interim time he had at Atlanta, he felt that interference may cause issues, so he’s just stepped away from that side of it.
“I gather that will be tough for him, but he’s managed to do that up until now.
“The new manager hasn’t been overly involved in the preparation for this game.
“We’re not in touch daily and have had three or four conversations since he took the job.
“We message back and forwards.
“We film training, so he has been able to see that, and he has been able to see what we have been doing.
“He has not had any concerns or flagged anything up in our training methods.”
With just five post-split fixtures remaining in the season, the Dons trail third-placed Hibs by five points.
Hibs face Premiership champions Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow.
Sheerin is determined Glass will take over next week with the Dons still in the fight for third.
He said: “The gap’s a bit wider than we would like going into the split.
“Now we are beginning our post-split fixtures, it is a case of viewing it as a mini league and trying to win as many games as possible.”
Aberdeen’s bid for third has been damaged by a concerning lack of goals since the turn of the year.
Only two goals have been scored in the previous 11 games, both by on-loan St Johnstone striker Callum Hendry.
The bizarre situation of today’s match where the manager will watch the action from his hotel room is intensified as the only player to deliver goals recently will also be absent.
Hendry is ineligible to face his parent club due to the terms of his loan deal from St Johnstone.
On-loan Stade de Reims striker Fraser Hornby has recovered from injury and is fit to face Saints today.
Sheerin said: “It is always a challenge against St Johnstone all the time I have been involved at the club.
“We know how well St Johnstone have done as a club with winning the League Cup and getting a top-six finish again.
“Their consistency has been incredible.
“We are well aware it will be a tough afternoon.”
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