I take no joy in saying this, but my old club Aberdeen are a laughing stock right now.
The former interim manager Peter Leven is back in charge after Neil Warnock, the interim manager who replaced him, stood down on Saturday.
The search for a permanent manager continues, meanwhile, with the club announcing on Monday they had drawn up a shortlist of candidates to take over.
Interviews are planned this week with the aim of appointing a new boss during the international break.
If that is not enough, the independent audit of the football operation has been completed and as a result the club are now looking to bring in a technical director to assist the director of football Steven Gunn.
Forget the managerial search – all eyes are now firmly on the Aberdeen board of directors who seem to be jumping from the frying pan into the fire with every decision they make.
Dons fans’ patience is at breaking point
I cannot believe the message being put out by the club is basically stating the club needs help in finding a new manager.
Given the three previous managers have lasted less than a year, I can see the logic of trying something different. But if the club wastes more money by getting this one wrong, then what?
Clearly the fans are now looking above the dugout at this point after seeing one appointment after another fail.
They have reached the point where they are questioning who is making these decisions and there will be no hiding place if the next appointment is a failure.
Chairman Dave Cormack and his directors will need to take a look at themselves if this goes pear-shaped again.
Uncertainty could impact Aberdeen manager hunt
I’d imagine the shortlisted managerial candidates selected to interview will have plenty to discuss.
The football structure is increasing with an extra level being added in a technical director.
The head of recruitment has changed as many times as the manager at Pittodrie recently.
I expect assurances of how a new manager fits into this structure – and how much input they have – will be uppermost in their thoughts.
One man whose name was mentioned a lot in the last week was Neil Lennon.
In all honesty, I cannot see him agreeing to work in this environment.
He’s a strong-willed individual, who, if appointed as manager, would want to do just that – manage.
Autonomy will be pivotal for any experienced manager wanting to take charge at the club.
What must the Aberdeen players be thinking?
I’ll tell you who will be feeling the most disillusioned about this whole affair – the players.
The one thing players crave is stability and there’s been little sign of that so far this year.
While Warnock’s parting shot of a big overhaul being required again this summer may ring true, there are players at Pittodrie who the next manager will want to have on board.
Top of that list is leading scorer Bojan Miovski.
He will be sitting in the changing room questioning where’s the stability? What’s the plan?
If I was in his position, I wouldn’t know what to think about it all.
I know this much though, he won’t be saying to himself “I should stay here”.
Given the current state of affairs right now, it would be a tough task trying to convince him the future is bright at Pittodrie.
Neil Warnock era was pointless
I’m struggling to get my head round everything that is happening at Pittodrie right now, so goodness knows how the Dons fans will be feeling.
I wanted to give my thoughts on an excellent display from the team in Saturday’s Scottish Cup win against Kilmarnock, but it seems redundant given what has transpired since the full-time whistle.
The players were terrific – it felt as if they were first to every ball.
If they weren’t, they were certainly winning the majority of second balls as they stifled Kilmarnock at every turn.
It was so unexpected given what we had been watching in previous games, but it felt as if the welcome result could be the one to kick-start their season.
But it does not feel like that now.
All the Aberdeen fans would have had a smile on their faces for the first time in weeks at the end of the game – but it was replaced by mass confusion within half an hour of their side booking a return to Hampden for the semi-final.
I still maintain Warnock was a ludicrous appointment.
He’s 75 and for all his experience in the game, he arrived at Pittodrie knowing very little about Scottish football.
He was learning on the job and it was a really tough start for him.
But given he had led the team to a huge win, it makes his decision to walk away just when there was a hint of a corner being turned all the more incredible.
It feels as if the 33 days in charge was an utterly pointless exercise from start to finish.
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