Barry Robson’s time in charge of Aberdeen has come to an end.
A disappointing 1-1 draw against Dundee at Pittodrie proved to be Robson’s final game in charge of the Dons.
The Aberdeen board will now turn their attentions to appointing his successor with the Dons next in action against Premiership leaders Celtic on Saturday.
Here are some candidates who could be in the running to succeed Robson as the next manager for Aberdeen FC.
Alex Neil
The 42-year-old is looking for his next managerial job after leaving Stoke City in December.
Neil was only 31 when he was named manager of Hamilton Accies in 2013. He guided the club to the top flight in his first season in charge with a memorable play-off victory against Hibernian.
He moved to Norwich City in January 2015 and guided the Canaries to a third-place finish in the English Championship and promotion to the English Premier League through the play-offs.
Norwich were relegated after a season in the top flight and he was sacked in March 2017 with the club sitting eighth in the Championship.
A spell in charge of Preston North End from July 2017 to March 2021 was followed by a move to Sunderland in February 2022.
In May of that year, he led the Black Cats back to the English Championship through the play-offs.
He left Sunderland in August 2022 to take charge of Stoke City. He was sacked in December 2023 with 22 wins from 66 games in charge.
Neil Lennon
The former Celtic manager has been out of work since leaving Cypriot side Omonia in October 2022.
During two spells at Celtic, he guided the Hoops to five Premiership titles, four Scottish Cups and one League Cup.
He also led Hibernian to the 2016-17 Championship title and won the 2022 Cypriot Cup while in charge of Omonia.
Lennon is understood to be one of the main contenders to succeed Stephen Kenny as Republic of Ireland boss.
Paul Heckingbottom
The 46-year-old was sacked by Sheffield United in December.
Heckingbottom had spells in charge of Barnsley and Leeds before being appointed Hibernian manager in February 2019.
After an encourging start at Easter Road, he was sacked in November of that year after winning only one of their first 11 league games.
He was appointed Sheffield United’s under-23 coach in July 2020 but was placed in interim charge of the first team when Chris Wilder was sacked in March 2021.
He was given the job on a permanent basis in November 2021 and enjoyed an impressive time in charge of the Blades, winning 48 of his 98 games in charge and leading the club to the English Premier League after finishing runners-up in the Championship in 2023.
Heckingbottom has been linked with the Huddersfield Town vacancy following the departure of Darren Moore.
Jimmy Thelin
The 45-year-old Swede has been in charge of Elfsborg since 2018. He moved to Elfsborg following a successful stint at Jonkopings Sondra, guiding the club to the Allsvenskan for the first time in 46 years.
He was heavily linked with the recent vacancies at Sunderland and Swansea. During his time at Elfsborg, he has won 98 of his 207 matches in charge with 53 draws and 56 defeats. They finished second in the Swedish top flight last year.
His preferred formation is an attacking 4-3-3.
Neil Warnock
If Aberdeen are looking for a short-term option to take them to the end of the season then could man of many clubs Neil Warnock come under consideration?
The 75-year-old stepped out of retirement to take charge of Huddersfield Town in February 2023 and guided the club to safety despite having been seven points adrift.
He left the club on September 20 following a 2-2 draw with Stoke City.
Warnock has long spoken of his desire to manage in Scotland and has previously applied to for the Aberdeen job.
He has not ruled out a return to management if the right job comes along.
A Gothenburg Great to steady the ship as Aberdeen manager until the end of the season
Another potential short-term option for Aberdeen could be bringing back a club legend until the end of the season while the Dons assess their longer term options.
Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish could be two possibilities.
Former Celtic and Scotland manager Strachan is currently working as Dundee’s technical director.
He was briefly the favourite with the bookmakers to succeed Jim Goodwin at Pittodrie last year before interim manager Barry Robson was appointed on a permanent basis.
Having guided Celtic to three titles, a Scottish Cup and two League Cups, the former Scotland boss could be seen as a safe pair of hands to take the reins until the end of the season.
McLeish has been out of the management game since his second spell in charge of Scotland came to an end in April 2019.
He won seven trophies during his time at Rangers and guided Birmingham City to the 2011 League Cup during his time in England.
McLeish also counts Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Zamalek among his former clubs.
Antoine Kombouare
The former Aberdeen defender has been out of work since leaving Nantes at the end of last season.
The 60-year-old took over a struggling Nantes in February 2021 and managed to keep them in the top flight after winning a play-off against Toulouse.
In the 2021-22 season, he lef Nantes to glory in the Coupe de France with a 1-0 win against Nice in the final.
They reached the final again in 2023 but were beaten 5-1 by Toulouse.
Earlier in his managerial career, he was in charge of Paris Saint Germain from 2009 to 2011, which included a Coupe de France success in 2010.
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