Joe Harper has urged Aberdeen to go for an experienced manager to replace Stephen Glass.
With the Dons in ninth place in the Scottish Premiership and without a league win in five matches so far in 2022, Harper – the club’s all-time leading goalscorer – believes an experienced campaigner is needed to stop the rot at Pittodrie.
The Evening Express columnist said: “An experienced head is needed now, but when I say experienced I’m talking two to five years.
“Stephen was thrown in at the deep end and it was a matter of trust from the chairman in seeing what he could do.
“Now it needs to be someone with at least two or three years’ experience. Who you get is a tougher question.
“There are guys like Jack Ross and Jim Goodwin or managers from down south who are looking to get back in the game.”
Premiership managers fit the bill for Harper
Harper has a few contenders he would like to see the Dons pursue, but believes a working knowledge of the Scottish Premiership will be essential.
He said: “I like Ross and Goodwin and if we got one of them I’d be quite happy, but we don’t know how big a spectrum Aberdeen will look at for this role.
“I don’t think you will get anyone from the Championship in England unless they are out of work just now, but there are good guys working in League One down there.
“Whoever it is, knowledge of Scottish football and an understanding of the challenges facing this team are vital.
“It’s never a nice time to be talking about who is next just after a manager is sacked – but that’s football. You have to move on quickly.”
New man may need to lead a Red revolution
Harper joined the Dons shortly after former Aberdeen manager Eddie Turnbull’s famous Pittodrie cull.
Turnbull got rid of 19 players when he arrived at the club as he quickly stamped his authority on the club and Harper believes a similar revamp could be needed with the current squad.
He said: “When Eddie Turnbull came to Aberdeen, the first thing he did was get rid of 19 players. That was scary, but he knew what his plan was.
“He always said to me: ‘You need a good centre Joe. A good goalkeeper, centre-half, midfielder and striker. Get that in place and build around it.’
“Alex Ferguson did the same. He had Jim Leighton in goal, Willie Miller and Alex McLeish in defence, Gordon Strachan in midfield and various strikers up front.
“Looking at this team, there are two out of four areas which haven’t done that at all. I’m not going to single out individual players, but collectively as a team there are areas which have underperformed.
“Whoever gets the job, some fans will approve and others won’t, but the new manager will have to prove himself straight away as we’re slipping down the table in worrying fashion.
“If you are looking at this team to save the club then you are backing a loser at this point.
“We haven’t been anywhere near good enough on too many occasions this season and the new man might feel drastic action is required in the summer.”
Short term pain may be necessary
Aberdeen are struggling on the pitch, but off the field Harper believes all the tools are in place for the next boss to be a success.
However, he has warned the road back to respectability may be a challenging one in the short term.
He said: “We’ve got a wonderful training ground and great conditions to work at on a daily basis.
“Connor Barron looked lively when he came on (against Motherwell) and he has ability. Maybe bringing young boys through for a couple of years is the way to go rather than going through players who were fit or good at one point in time.
“All the Aberdeen fans will get behind the new manager and give him a chance. But he is going to have to repair this team.
“There might be some difficult games, but remember it won’t be his fault. He is going to be inheriting someone else’s team and is going to need to time to fix it.”
