Former Aberdeen coach Neil Cooper has urged the club to look to an experienced campaigner for the role of new Dons boss.
Ferguson has offered to be a sounding board to Cormack as he goes through the process of making his first managerial appointment and has urged the chairman to look to other experienced campaigners in Bobby Clark and Neil Simpson for support.
Cooper, who served the club as youth coach in two spells, is not surprised to see Cormack turn to Gothenburg Great Ferguson and believes the same experience should factor into Cormack’s decision on Derek McInnes’ successor.
He said: “The chairman has spoken to Sir Alex and has someone like Craig Brown he can turn to as well. He’s the last guy who took Scotland to the World Cup finals and like Sir Alex he has a wealth of experience in the game.
“My personal feeling is that you need some experience in there. Recruitment is going to be key for Aberdeen this summer and someone who knows what they are doing and has a network of people they can rely on to give honest opinions on players they perhaps haven’t seen will be so important.”
With nine players out of contract and four more due to return to their parent clubs when their loans expire in May, Cooper believes this summer will be a vital one at Pittodrie in what is expected to be a close season of significant transfer activity.
He said: “With so many players out of contract and loan deals expiring there are a lot of decisions to be made in terms of the squad.
“You can see from recent seasons how tough it is to retain and replace players and one of the biggest challenges a manager has at Aberdeen is safeguarding the club.
“Aberdeen have lost key players like Graeme Shinnie and Ryan Jack for nothing and replacing these guys is tough. It’s so important the club tries to stop that happening as losing players of that quality for nothing is really challenging.
“Russ Richardson kept an eye on players in England for Derek McInnes. He had worked with Derek when he was at Bristol and it will be vital for Aberdeen to have a scouting network in England in place.
“We know it has been a difficult year for clubs in Scotland and having contacts in the game are going to be more important than ever this summer.”
Cooper, who was part of the backroom staff at Pittodrie under McInnes until his departure in 2014, knows the task of managing the Dons is a huge one and believes whoever takes charge will face major challenges both European and domestic.
He said: “The next manager is taking over from a management team which has led the club to Europe every season and to second, third and fourth place finishes.
“When Rangers were still getting their finances in order, Aberdeen still managed to finish second, but, now that they are established again, no club is going to finish higher than third.
“I know that’s not what some people want to hear, but the other clubs in Scotland don’t have the budget to challenge Celtic or Rangers. Celtic have had a poor season by their standards, but they are still well clear of third place which shows you just how big the task is.
“Going further back, Jimmy Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl led Aberdeen to the group stage of European football, but there was only one qualifying round back then.
“Those games against Lokomotiv Moscow, Copenhagen and Atletico Madrid were great for the fans and the club, but you are talking about having to get through three or four rounds just to reach the group stage of these competitions now. It’s so much harder now and seems to be getting tougher every year.”
While the search for a new manager continues the club has put Paul Sheerin, Barry Robson and Neil Simpson in charge of team affairs on an interim basis.
Cooper has performed that role twice at Pittodrie, initially alongside Paul Hegarty following Alex Miller’s dismissal in season 1998-99 and briefly following Mark McGhee’s departure in 2010.
The 62 year-old knows it is a difficult situation for the caretaker team, but insists the club is in good hands.
He said: “The guys in charge at the moment know what they are doing. They’ll have spent the last couple of weeks assessing their options. The pressure on them is simply to win games of football.
“It is a difficult situation to go into as you are taking over when a team is struggling, but the one good thing is you have the next game to focus on and try to put things right. You don’t look any further than that.”
