Aberdeen are weighing up a bid to make managerial legend Neil Warnock their boss until the end of the season in the wake of Barry Robson’s sacking.
It is understood Aberdeen’s hierarchy may have already sounded out veteran Warnock about taking charge of the Dons until the end of the season and a more formal approach could now be made following confirmation of Robson’s exit earlier on Wednesday.
The Reds board axed Robson and assistant Steve Agnew after Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at home to Dundee – a result which means Aberdeen have won just six of their 21 Premiership fixtures this term.
Though first-team coach Peter Leven has been placed in caretaker charge of the squad for the time being, alongside under-18s boss Scott Anderson, Aberdeen look likely to bring in an experienced, interim boss to steady the ship until the summer.
This would then give them time to scour the market for a long-term permanent managerial appointment.
It is thought the Dons will try to land an experienced interim manager quickly.
Aberdeen host Celtic in the Premiership on Saturday and then Rangers at Ibrox on Tuesday and it remains to be seen whether it will be Leven or someone else in charge for either of those matches.
Short-term Dons option Warnock is English football record-breaker
Warnock certainly fits the bill in terms of experience.
The vastly experienced 75-year-old has been out of work since leaving English Championship Huddersfield Town in September and is on record in recent months as saying he would favour short-term, end-of-January-transfer-window-until-summer appointments going forward.
In more than 40 years as a manager, Warnock has taken charge of Huddersfield (twice), Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough among a litany of other clubs.
He won the Championship with QPR to take them into the Premier League in 2011, and holds the record for most promotions in English football, with eight – four of which have been into England’s top-flight.
Warnock is also out in front in terms of games as a professional manager in England, having been in charge for more than 1,600 fixtures.
Cormack: We gave Robson and Agnew all the time we could
In announcing manager Robson’s departure in the wake of Aberdeen’s Pittodrie draw with Dundee, chairman Dave Cormack said Dons chiefs had given their former midfielder as long as they “possibly could” to turn around an “unacceptable” league campaign.
Robson led the resurgent Reds to third place in the second half of last season, having initially only stepped up from his U18s role as caretaker in late January last year following Jim Goodwin’s sacking and earning a permanent deal during a superb winning run.
However, despite an expensive summer rebuild, Aberdeen are a lowly eighth in the Premiership table this term.
Robson did helm a respectable Europa Conference League group adventure earlier in the campaign, and led the Dons into the League Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Rangers.
Pittodrie supremo Cormack also labelled the managerial turnover during his chairmanship as “exhausting”, having now axed a fourth boss since 2021.
He said: “Although it has been a difficult call, the board felt the change was necessary and in the best interests of Aberdeen FC.
“Barry earned the right to be Aberdeen manager and knew the high level of expectation we had when he took the role.
“We gave Barry as much time and support as we possibly could in the hope, and expectation, he could return us to the league form we witnessed in the spring of last year.
“There is a talented squad of players at the club which makes our current league position unacceptable.
“With 17 games left in the league and still in the Scottish Cup, this change is necessary to help us refocus on our ambitions for the rest of the season.
“It’s important we thank Barry for his significant contribution to Aberdeen as a player, a coach and manager. He’s a good man who worked extremely hard in everything he did for us, and it goes without saying that we wish him, and Steve, our very best.
“The club, as a business, is in good shape. We have no bank debt, significant commercial growth, record season ticket and AberDNA membership sales. We also have an evolving player trading model that is allowing us to invest significantly more in the football operation than the operating income we generate.
“But, as chairman I accept responsibility, along with the board, for the managerial upheavals. It’s exhausting for everyone to go through, not least our fans and the managers who gave their all and lost their jobs.”
How does Barry Robson news affect Aberdeen’s late transfer window business?
The January transfer window closes at 11.30pm on Thursday, with The Press and Journal revealing on Tuesday the Dons could add a central defensive reinforcement and attacker before the window shuts.
Following injuries to centre-half duo Slobodan Rubezic (knee) and Stefan Gartenmann (toe), Aberdeen were understood to have more than one centre-back option on their radar – though a loan return for Watford’s Mattie Pollock or loan bid for ex-St Johnstone stopper Jason Kerr from Wigan Athletic look likely to come to nothing.
It is unclear, following boss Robson’s exit, whether incoming transfer business will be affected.
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