The Aberdeen board should not rule out looking overseas for their next manager.
There is a wealth of managerial talent outside Scotland, so chairman Dave Cormack and the board should not limit the search to this country.
If an overseas candidate fits the bill, the board shouldn’t be afraid to make the call and appoint him if they believe it is right for the club.
It could be a gamble, but Celtic have already shown with Ange Postecoglou that a left-field appointment from overseas can work.
Of course, there are also a number of strong candidates within Scotland such as Neil Lennon, Jack Ross and Jim Goodwin.
Neil Lennon has a wealth of experience of Scottish football at a high level.
He left Hibs not because of results, but a difference of opinion. That’s what you get with an experienced manager – opinions.
Jack Ross has done well, but has only recently lost his job at a major competitor in Hibs.
That has to be taken into consideration.
Currently at St Mirren, Jim Goodwin is a younger manager who has done well with resources that aren’t of a high level.
He wasn’t doing particularly well up until the turn of the year, but identified where the problem lay. Goodwin has turned that around.
All of these potential candidates have genuine knowledge of Scottish football and should be considered.
Regardless of where Aberdeen secure their next manager from, one factor is vital – the new boss must have experience and a strong track record.
The process in appointing a new manager must also be quick.
There obviously needs to be a process, but it can be accelerated by interviewing and moving swiftly.
Get it down to a short-list, interview the candidates on it and make a decision.
Then take the new manager in with the hope the season can be turned around.
Unfortunately it didn’t work out for Stephen Glass and the responsibility for that lies with chairman Dave Cormack and the Dons board of directors.
There is now the responsibility on them to appoint the right successor to Glass.
The appointment of Glass was a bit of a gamble, but Cormack knew what he was capable of.
Ultimately, 11 months is not a lot of time for a new manager to come in and turn things around.
Glass had been given a specific brief by the chairman and the board.
However, the attempt to play open and attractive football led to goals being lost and defeats.
It all came to an end with the disappointing Scottish Cup loss at Motherwell.
Going for the Scottish Cup glory gives supporters hope for the business end of the season and some solidarity with the manager.
When that goes, it is really difficult for that communal support to stay together – if you are ninth in the Premiership table and on a bad run of form.
That was shown by the reaction of the Aberdeen fans who travelled down to Motherwell.
Once the faith of the fans has been lost, directors and chairmen tend to react.
Chairman Cormack sat in front of me at Fir Park and witnessed the reaction of the supporters, who are his customers.
He decided to make the change.
During his short tenure at the club, Glass handled himself very well in terms of answering all the questions put to him.
It’s difficult when you go through bad spells, but he did not shirk away from it.
I did feel he was perhaps turning it around in December, but unfortunately the away results just weren’t there for him.
The culmination of going out of both cups, dropping to ninth in the table and the fans’ reaction made it inevitable the manager would lose his job.
Now the chairman and the board must appoint a new manager to come in and turn around the team’s fortunes.
Europe must be target for new boss
European football is still very much up for grabs for Aberdeen’s new manager, whoever that will be.
Aberdeen may be sitting ninth in the Premiership table, but they are only four points behind fourth-placed Dundee United and have a game in hand.
Should the Reds win that game in hand against St Johnstone tonight, they will move into the top six again – and be within just a point of fourth.
The hope is that there will be a new manager bounce and Stephen Glass’ replacement will get the players behind him and start quickly delivering wins.
Tonight’s match against St Johnstone is vitally important.
Aberdeen’s interim coaching team of Barry Robson, Neil Simpson, Scott Anderson and Scott Brown are safe hands.
It is always difficult for coaches to step up to try to inspire a team on a poor run of form that has led to a manager’s exit.
My old team-mate Simmy has been at the club for a long time, as has Barry, who steps up from his role with the U18s.
They will do their utmost to steady the ship to try to get a result against St Johnstone.
A win tonight would certainly help a new manager.
It is a big responsibility for Simmy, Barry and the two Scotts – but they are more than capable of delivering a win.
Simmy and Barry know the players well, particularly the younger ones, who may need more attention at this time.
They also know the club well. It gives a little stability being able to call upon these experienced campaigners to lead in the short term.
However, at this stage in the season it is about Cormack and the board making that decisive decision on appointing a manager to move the club forward.
That shouldn’t drag on. When the new manager is appointed, it will also allow these coaches to get back to the normal job they do.
There are responsibilities that Barry, Simmy and Scott are being taken away from.
New manager’s own style important
It is important Aberdeen’s new boss is allowed to come in and manage in his own style with his own personality.
If you start with the need to be open and expansive and are leaking goals and not getting results, that foundation cannot be built.
Fundamentally, the first thing any manager should be asked to deliver is results.
If you get results, then performances tend to come and style of play begins to evolve.
Players relax a little more and are able to show their talents.
Another priority for the new manager is addressing the frailties in the side which has been leaking goals and is not creative enough.
First and foremost – sort the defence out.
Aberdeen have struggled to keep clean sheets throughout the whole season.
If you are losing goals it doesn’t give you any chance to build real consistency if the team fear they have to score twice to have a chance of winning.
The loss of Andrew Considine has been a major blow.
🏃🏽😅 @AberdeenFC pic.twitter.com/oCXn2DqsaE
— Andrew Considine (@AndyConsie4) January 7, 2022
Considine has been at the club for his entire career and is a strong influence.
Hopefully he will be back in action soon for Aberdeen, having been ruled out with a knee injury since August.
The new manager should also look to take some of the pressure off Stephen Glass’ star signing Christian Ramirez.
The striker has been practically the lone carrier of that responsibility to get goals and has done a magnificent job.
