The status quo remains for now but Barry Robson has several items on his to-do list as he bids to convince Aberdeen he should be the club’s permanent manager beyond the end of the season.
Leading a team which had one win in 10 games since the World Cup to four wins from their last six league matches has convinced the Dons to pause their search for a new manager.
It has left Robson in the driving seat at worst and master of his own fate at best.
The 17-times capped Scotland international has nine games to prove himself worthy of the position beyond the summer and we have taken a look at the factors which could hinge on Robson landing the job.
On the pitch
The obvious one first – keep winning.
Under Robson the Dons have reignited their bid for European football. Aberdeen’s European hopes were fading into the distance prior to Robson being put in charge and the gap between Aberdeen and third-placed Hearts was as big as 10 points at one stage.
But the upturn in form culminating in a three-game winning run, the first in the league since December 2021, has propelled the Dons back into the race and cut the Jambos’ lead to four points.
A third-place finish, coupled with either Rangers or Celtic winning the Scottish Cup will mean a Europa League play-off round awaits.
That guarantees European football until Christmas in either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League next season – or roughly £3 million in extra revenue.
The stakes are high for the run-in and given Robson has played his hand well it is not hard to see why the Dons directors are not ready to fold when it comes to him being in the dugout.
Should he go on to win the cash pot for the club then sticking with him in the long-term will surely be a no-brainer.
Forget all the talk of experience – football remains a results business and Robson is getting them on a regular basis.
The willingness of the experienced Steve Agnew to stay on beyond the summer also helps Robson’s case.
Contracts
With four players out of contract and eight players due to return to their parent clubs at the end of their loan deals that represents a significant hole in the first-team squad.
Convincing Angus MacDonald to sign a long-term deal would be a good start.
The central defender has been excellent since arriving at the club and along with Mattie Pollock has been a big factor in shoring up a porous defence.
The other players in the final months of their contracts are attacking players. Jonny Hayes will be 36 this summer but may feel he has another season in him while decisions need to be made on Matty Kennedy and Marley Watkins.
The extensive list of loan players, however, requires serious thought.
Top of the pile is Graeme Shinnie. He is on loan from Wigan but the fact he has been installed as captain again speaks volumes of his influence in the dressing room and presence on the pitch.
The belief is he is ready to come home permanently. Making it happen would be a popular move.
Goalkeeper Jay Gorter has expressed uncertainty as to whether he has a future at Ajax but he has certainly looked the business in his short time at Pittodrie.
Extending his stay for another season if not longer would be a serious signal of intent.
The same could be said for Leighton Clarkson and Pollock. Both have been excellent for the Dons and there would be few grumbles among the Dons support should the duo come back next season.
The future is less clear when it comes to Liam Scales, Hayden Coulson, Patrik Myslovic and Dilan Markanday.
Scales and Coulson have featured regularly while Myslovic and Markanday have been seen only sporadically so far.
Aberdeen have a deal provisionally in place to make Myslovic’s move to Pittodrie permanent. Whilst little has been seen of the midfielder so far Robson is understood to be a big admirer of the Slovakian under-21 international.
Connor Barron
The midfielder has gone from being one of the hottest prospects in Scottish football 12 months ago to Aberdeen’s forgotten man.
Barron has 18 months left on his Dons contract and the club would love for him to extend his stay at Pittodrie.
But after missing the start of the season with a knee injury then suffering a groin injury, Barron has not played since a seven-minute appearance at Easter Road in the 6-0 defeat in Jim Goodwin’s final game in charge on January 28.
Barron made it onto the bench for the 3-0 win against Hearts on March 18 and if Robson can get him back firing on all cylinders he could have a pivotal role to play both for his club and his interim manager’s hopes of landing the job permanently.
Football Monitoring Board
We can confirm that Barry Robson and his assistant Steve Agnew have agreed to continue in post initially until the end of the current cinch Premiership season.
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) March 29, 2023
The all-seeing, all-important powerbrokers at Pittodrie are the men who will determine Robson’s fate.
The interim manager wants the job and given he has been allocated an extended interview of sorts in shaping what is happening on the pitch at the club, he is now the favourite for the job.
But results are only one facet of the manager’s job at Pittodrie.
Given his predecessor Jim Goodwin identified the type of player he wanted and the football monitoring board oversaw the recruitment process which sourced the likes of Duk, Bojan Miovski and Ylber Ramadani, it is crucial Robson can work in the same system.
Robson, whether he is the permanent solution or a stop-gap, will be spending his time away from training and preparing for games by having meetings, assessing players and helping shape the squad make-up for next season.
A strong working relationship with monitoring board members – chairman Dave Cormack, former chairman Stewart Milne, director of football Steven Gunn, director Willie Garner – not to mention a close bond with head of recruitment Darren Mowbray is essential.
Sean Wallace: Right call by Aberdeen to make Barry Robson manager until the end of the season
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