New Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin must ultimately aim to smash the tired status quo of Scottish football.
There is a depressing narrative within Scottish football that clubs outside of Celtic and Rangers must always stay in their own lane.
That the hackneyed duopoly of the Old Firm cannot be challenged.
Know your place, stay in your lane, don’t get ideas above your station.
It is a defeatist attitude that has infected Scottish football for too long and it is time for it to end.
Even in writing this column, calling for a manager to have the self-belief and vision to stand up to the Old Firm I will inevitably be mocked by some.
But why shouldn’t a club and manager stand up and attempt to break the status quo?
Rangers and Celtic in a two-way scrap for the Premiership crown is exciting… if you’re a fan of the Glasgow two.
For supporters of the other 10 top flight clubs it is the monotonous and depressing. Same old, same old.
The Premiership is locked in a frustrating, dreary groove to see which Old Firm club wins the league.
Aberdeen’s board made a bold move by jumping off the Scottish football managerial merry-go-round with the appointment of Thelin.
They could have taken the easy, and quick, route by going for one of the managers bandied about when any top-flight managerial job in Scotland comes up.
Aberdeen didn’t. Chairman Dave Cormack and the board opted to take in a manager from overseas.
They broke the mould with the appointment of Thelin, now the ultimate step is to have a pop at trying to break the status quo in Scottish football.
Thelin will arrive in Scotland free of any preconceptions about Scottish football.
He will begin his Pittodrie career free from the belief that unfortunately permeates the Premiership that it is a two-horse race before a ball is even kicked.
That teams outwith Celtic and Rangers must feed off scraps from the Glasgow clubs’ table, fighting for a third-placed finish at best.
You can either blindly accept it or do something about it.
Aberdeen appear to have done something about it as Thelin comes from a league where more than two teams can push for the title.
Thelin took provincial club Elfsborg from the mid-table to a runners-up league finish last season, only losing out on the title to Malmo on goal difference.
In Scotland you are ridiculed for suggesting the Old Firm duopoly can be challenged.
I’m not saying Aberdeen will push for the title next season as Thelin will need a few windows to build his own team.
But if he and the board get player recruitment right why can’t he lead the Dons to a title challenge in future seasons?
Aberdeen were in a title challenge under Derek McInnes in 2015/16.
They were only one point behind leaders Celtic in March.
A title race was on but unfortunately the Reds’ fight faltered in the latter stages.
Rangers were not in the league at the time but that is irrelevant.
That Dons squad proved they were strong enough to challenge at the top.
From next season the Premiership champions will no longer automatically make it into the group stage of the Champions League.
That could be another potential leveller.
For the good of Scottish football a manager and club need to attempt to blow up the depressing duopoly.
Over to you Jimmy!
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