Former Aberdeen manager Alex Smith believes Barry Robson showed he had the tools required to take charge at Pittodrie at the start of his coaching career.
Smith was part of the coaching team who put Robson through his coaching badges following his retirement as a player in 2016.
Smith insists Robson’s qualities stood out at an early stage during his summer tenure at Largs.
He said: “I’ve known Barry since he was a young player at Caley Thistle and was an excellent player for them who went on to be a top player at Dundee United, Celtic, Aberdeen and Scotland.
“He was part of the group doing their coaches badges with me at Largs and it was clear he had the tools required to be a successful manager.
“Barry is a very good coach, is adept at conversing with players about the game but also had a very good sense of humour.
“That’s an important part of the job as football has a way of throwing hurdles in your way.”
‘Barry has lifted Aberdeen out of the doldrums’
Smith says it is hard not to be impressed by Robson’s feat in leading the Dons from slipping down the Premiership table and being 10 points adrift of Hearts to pipping the Jambos to third place in the division.
The then interim-boss’ achievement is one Smith believes was rightly rewarded with a long-term spell in the Dons dugout.
Smith said: “It’s quite incredible what they have done.
“If you look back to January when everyone was so down, it was so bleak it felt as if things were getting worse by the hour.
“It was very difficult to see how they were going to turn things round.
“I was more worried about them slipping further down the table than moving back up it.
“To Barry’s credit he simplified everything, organised the team and a couple of wins helped build that confidence back.
“The team was like scrambled eggs in January.
“The players were all over the place. There was lots of effort but little organisation and mistakes happening all over the place.
“He has lifted Aberdeen out of the doldrums and got the fans right behind him and the players.”
Robson has assembled a strong team
Former Aberdeen manager Smith sees a bright future for the club when he looks at the backroom staff assembled by Robson.
He added: “His assistant Steve Agnew is a very good coach as well with a wealth of experience at some top clubs in England.
“With Liam Fox joining the team after leaving Dundee United there is a very strong unit in place at Pittodrie.”
Light at the end of the tunnel
Smith, who guided the Dons to a domestic cup double in season 1989-90, is pleased to see chairman Dave Cormack have something to smile about at last following a challenging start to his tenure.
Robson is the third manager to be appointed since Cormack replaced former chairman Stewart Milne in heading up the board at Pittodrie
Smith said: “The Aberdeen chairman has had experience of making some appointments which have gone against him so I am pleased to see he was cautious and careful before making an appointment.
“With Dave Cormack taking his time Barry has been able to get his ideas across and has done a terrific job.
“Aberdeen are not as bad as it might have appeared back in January but it was clear they had lost their way and the confidence had been affected.
“They were in a rut, people were mocking them and it wasn’t nice to see.
“I’ve been away from Aberdeen for a long time but I still have feelings for the club.
“Players I’ve worked with in my time there have a fondness for the club too and it hurt to see everyone struggling.
“It wasn’t a case of a team having a bounce under a new manager. Barry had to prove he was the man for the job and he has worked hard to earn the chance.
“Now he is in place it is important he gets some time to really build something there. We’ve seen too much chopping and changing. The club needs some stability again.”
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