Aberdeen’s clash with Celtic this weekend provides interim manager Barry Robson with an opportunity to showcase his dugout credentials.
Clearly it will be a difficult assignment for the Dons against the Premiership champions and league leaders.
But if the Reds could get a result, it would boost Robson’s CV and his chances of getting the job permanently.
The process of appointing a new manager is still ongoing.
Something in Robson’s favour is the board know him extremely well.
He’s been at the club a long time as a player and a coach, and the people running the club know his character and how he wants to play.
They know what they will get from Robson, but if you go for a manager from elsewhere you don’t know them so intimately, although that’s not to say you can’t find out.
Aberdeen have tried two inexperienced managers with their last two appointments in Stephen Glass and Jim Goodwin, so I think they now have to look for experience and cast the net wide.
But, by the same token, there’s no barrier to stop Robson being one of the leading contenders for the job if he does well.
New appointment should be swift
Really the process shouldn’t take too long. There will be a huge amount of applicants for the job, but you have to whittle that down to a shortlist quite quickly.
If you still don’t think the right person is there then you have to take longer to find the right person.
It could be the case the manager Aberdeen want is under contract and would need to be bought out of that.
If the Dons have to wait to the summer to get who they want that’s fair enough.
But if they can get the person they want just now I don’t think it should take much longer to appoint a manager, given it’s already been a fortnight since Goodwin was dismissed.
The sooner an appointment is made, the more time it gives the new boss between now and the end of the season to try to build for next term.
‘Spineless’ away displays have to improve
Returning to this weekend’s fixture, and the first thing Robson needs to see from his players is a decent performance.
Too often away from home this season the Reds’ displays have been spineless and that needs to change.
I don’t think there is a massive expectation on Aberdeen to win – the expectation on the Dons is to be hard-working, difficult to beat and carry a threat.
If we see that in the performance then it will be positive, but, if they perform meekly as they have in many away games this season, questions will be asked.
We’ve seen plenty of enthusiasm and endeavour in the two games since Jim Goodwin was sacked, but both of those were at Pittodrie.
Dons must stand firm in defence at Parkhead – without parking the bus again
There have been teams that have gone to Parkhead and made it difficult for Celtic this season.
We know all about their qualities and their firepower. But the likes of Livingston, Ross County and Dundee United have all gone there this term and caused some problems without getting a result.
It’s not mission impossible to make it difficult for the Hoops, and that’s what Robson will be looking at.
Aberdeen will need to be set up to be tough to beat, but they can’t just be parking the bus for 90 minutes.
In the last meeting between the sides at Pittodrie, the Reds didn’t carry any threat, which was unacceptable and depressing to watch.
Robson has had two weeks to work with his players and prepare them for how he wants to play.
He seems confident in the work he’s doing and I hope Aberdeen can put on a good show.
Can Burrows be Dons difference-maker?
Alan Burrows’ appointment as Aberdeen chief executive has been largely welcomed by supporters.
I look forward to seeing what impact the former Motherwell supremo can have when he takes up his role at Pittodrie later this month.
Chairman Dave Cormack has very much been the public face running the club since succeeding Stewart Milne in December 2019.
The last couple of years haven’t been successful for the Dons, with two managers hired and fired in quick succession, following Derek McInnes’ exit.
As a club you don’t want that to become commonplace and now Cormack has brought in a chief executive and I would expect Burrows to be given ownership of certain aspects of the club’s operations.
Cormack also has other business interests and splits his time between Scotland and America, which is a challenge in itself.
The most important part of any football club is results on the pitch and in the last couple of years results haven’t been good enough.
You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
I’m interested to see what Burrows brings to Pittodrie.
The first thing to be sorted out – and we don’t know how much input he will have on this front – is the appointment of a new manager and the direction of the team.
Beyond that you look at other areas like fan engagement and community initiatives the club carry out.
Although those things are important, the most important and exciting element for any club is watching the team perform.
It’s a big job Burrows is taking on and I look forward to watching how he gets on.
Hopefully he can help get Aberdeen moving in the right direction again after a poor couple of years.
Special few days in store to mark Euro success
It will be great to get together with my team-mates to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph.
On May 11 – exactly 40 years on from us beating Real Madrid 2-1 in Gothenburg – there will be a gala dinner.
The following day we will be presented with the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen, which will be a great honour and we’ll also be at the Dons’ game at Pittodrie that weekend.
One member of the team who we all still think about regularly and who sadly won’t be there for the celebrations is the late, great Neale Cooper.
He will be in our thoughts during the celebrations because he was an important part of the team and also a huge character.
We’ll reflect on lots of fun times we had with Neale and also what a great player he was.
When we get the opportunity to get together as a team nothing has changed – the personalities are still the same as they were 40 years ago.
That bond as team-mates and friends is still there and when we get the opportunity to spend time together we make the most of it and enjoy ourselves.
I know there are plenty of supporters who still look back fondly on making the trip to Gothenburg and I’m sure stories of the European triumph have been passed down through the generations.
It will be great to look back on such a magnificent achievement for Aberdeen.
Conversation