It wasn’t so long ago that Willie Miller found himself in with the high-heid yins at Pittodrie as executives at the club searched for a new manager. The Aberdeen legend’s stint as a director means that he is all-too-aware of the pressures that the club hierarchy face in ensuring they get their next appointment spot-on, and he knows there are no easy answers.
The current occupants of the Dons boardroom certainly have a decision to make. After Jim Goodwin was relieved of his duties in January, Barry Robson has stepped up to the plate in the interim – and the former Scotland internationalist is certainly making the case to be given the gig on a permanent basis.
Four wins in Aberdeen’s last five outings have reignited the team’s campaign and the prospect of catching Hearts in third – something that was seemingly impossible only a matter of weeks ago – is now distinctly feasible.
It’s quite the turnaround and Miller believes that Robson is making the most of the opportunity granted to him. Some supporters want to see the 44-year-old handed the reins permanently; others want the club to look further afield. Miller is certain of one thing though: Robson has not done himself any harm thus far.
“Well, he’s certainly had a good audition, hasn’t he?” Miller said. “My view on it is that the club has executives who are charged with appointing the next manager. Their job should be to look far and wide with a kind of a photo-fit of the manager they’d like to see at the club – and then go and get him.
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“Where Barry is just now, they know him as a player, they know him as a coach, he’s been here for over 10 years. So they know him. They know his personality, they know his strengths, they know his weaknesses.
“He’s getting results and performances – he’s got to be in there as a candidate. But a candidate. That’s my opinion. If the executives put all that together and decide he’s the best candidate then I have no problem with it. But it’s up to them.
“I’ve been there, I’ve been there as a director, I’ve been tasked with the responsibility of finding managers and you go through the process. Then you make that decision. And you make it as an informed decision.
“Is it going to be right every time? Well, you know the answer’s no. It’s how many managers don’t actually make a success of it, more than those who do actually make a success of it.
“But at the same time, if you’ve went through the process, if you’ve made an educated and honest decision that he’s going to be the next manager then go and appoint him.
“And if it’s Barry Robson then go and support him, throw your weight behind him. He’s certainly not doing himself any harm – whether it’s here or it is at another club. Barry’s already said himself, he’ll be a manager at some point.”
There is a section of the Aberdeen support that would like to see Robson given the job until the end of the current campaign. That way, the thinking goes, Robson and his coaching staff will benefit from a little surety for the season’s run-in without the club having to commit to a lengthy contract in case things don’t pan out as planned.
Miller, though, is wary of such a scenario. Sure, it might suit the Dons hierarchy down to the ground but it could leave Robson in an awkward position in a few months’ time.
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“I think it’s difficult for Barry,” Miller explained. “That scenario you’re putting out there is tough for Barry. If he takes that until the end of the season and they decide he’s not the man for it, the new manager who comes in – where is Barry’s position?
“How many times have you seen coaches being thrust into the manager’s job? You just have to look at Dundee United; thrust into it and they take it on in good faith and good will. Then the new manager comes in and all of a sudden they’re out the door.
“I don’t think that’s right for Barry. Now, I think they know the man. It’s not as if they would appointing someone they don’t know. He’s been here for over a decade. If they are going to give him the job, then give him the job permanently.”
He continued: “Here are the options: don’t give him it and bring someone else in, give him it until the end of the season or give him it permanently. I think from Barry’s point of view, giving him it until the end of the season is not the right decision for him.
“He might think differently, which is fair enough. Just let him stagger on the way he is going is another option. That doesn’t reflect particularly well on the executive of the club, because they are then seen as being unable to make their mind up.
“So, I think give him it or don’t give him it – they’ve had enough time to look round Europe or wherever they ned to look round that short-list and interview people.
“They should at least now, I think, to be in a position to have that short-list and to be able then to go out and be sure about things.
“If their man’s not available that’s a different option. You’ve seen that at Celtic. It could be that you’ve got to stall until you get the man you want. But, at the same time, I think a club like Aberdeen a decision should be made.
“The new CEO [Alan Burrows] will have been in for four weeks by the end off the month. You’ve got a director of football as well – it used to be their responsibility to go and source the next manager – not the CEO. But I don’t know what the chain of command is here.
“They’ve probably had enough time to look round and decide if Barry is the right man or if they’ve got other candidates. And if they need a wee bit more time then take a wee bit more time. But I don’t think they should be just letting it run for much longer.
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“There comes a point when you’ve got to make that decision. They can give to Barry until the end of the season and that’s fine but I’m not too sure if that’s good for Barry.
“You wouldn’t like to see anything happen like Liam Fox or Stevie Hammell, for example. They are all doing that [stepping up] for the benefit of the club as well as their own benefit. But they are putting themselves out on a limb to take that responsibility at a very early stage of their managerial careers.
“So I think the club has got to take that into consideration when they are making that decision that he doesn’t get hung out to dry. That would be my worry there that if he took it to the end of the season that that might happen.”
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