Aberdeen are looking for a new manager after parting with long-serving coach Derek McInnes after eight years in charge. The Dons currently sit fourth in the table, three points behind third-place Hibernian.
McInnes’ side won just two of their last 13 matches in the Scottish Premiership, however, in an era dominated by Celtic, he will be fondly remembered at Pittodrie for overseeing Aberdeen winning the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park against St Johnstone in 2014.
Former Aberdeen midfielder Stephen Glass is the bookie’s favourite to take the vacant managerial role at Pittodrie.
Glass is currently the manager of Atlanta United’s second team who competes in the USL Championship. The 44-year-old’s only role as a manager of a senior side was as an interim following the departure of Frank de Boer up until Gabriel Heinze was appointed in January, where the Scotsman managed 19 points in 19 games as they finished 12th in the Eastern Conference.
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is next on the list, having resigned from the Parkhead club last month with them lying 18 points behind Rangers, at the time when they were facing the prospect of Rangers potentially winning the title at Celtic Park.
Until this season, Lennon’s return to Celtic had gone to plan, as he delivered two Scottish Premiership titles, matching Rangers' record of nine in a row in the process, as well as winning two Scottish Cups and a League Cup.
The Northern Irishman is looking to rebuild his career again, following what was a poor final season at Celtic and may opt for a move like this having restored his reputation at Hibernian between 2016 and 2019, following his shortcomings at Bolton Wanderers.
Lennon has the odds of 11/4 to become Aberdeen's next permanent manager.
Stephen Robinson is also rumoured to be in close consideration following an impressive three-year spell as Motherwell manager, where he managed to get the Well a third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last season.
The Northern Irishman’s time at Fir Park saw a drastic turnaround at the club, as they finished ninth in the 2016/17 season where he took over the reins from Mark McGhee.
This would be a good move for the former Bournemouth man, as it would give him the opportunity to manage a more talented squad than that at his disposal at Motherwell, which could ultimately help his career to progress.
Manchester United coach Darren Fletcher has been linked to the job at Pittodrie, despite only re-joining the Old Trafford club back in October last year.
In November 2019, he spoke about his desire to go into a full-time management role before returning to United where he managed their Under 16’s side before being promoted to the role of a first-team coach.
The job at Aberdeen would be a good role for any young upcoming manager to have, as they are often regarded as one of the best teams in the Scottish Premiership and their quality also presents the opportunity to qualify for European tournaments such as the Europa League.
Fletcher is priced at 7/1 to get his first senior managerial job in football at Aberdeen.
Former Sevilla midfielder Enzo Maresca is also on the list of candidates that have been linked to the vacant role at Aberdeen.
The Italian has had several roles since retiring from playing in 2017, as he has been assistant manager at Ascoli, Sevilla and West Ham United and currently plies his trade as manager of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad.
Similarly to Fletcher, this role would be a very good one for an up and coming manager, due to the quality of Aberdeen's squad in comparison to the rest of the Scottish Premiership. The Italian also has good links at the likes of City which he could utilise to develop what has the potential to be an exciting squad at Pittodrie.
Maresca is priced at 10/1 to become Aberdeen's next manager.
Aberdeen’s current interim manager Paul Sheerin is also on this list.
The 46-year-old’s only previous senior managerial experience came in four years at Arbroath between May 2010 and May 2014, where he managed to lead the Smokies to the Scottish Third Division title in his first season in charge.
Since then, he has been a youth coach at Pittodrie, where he managed to win the SPFL Development League with the Under 20’s in the 2014/15 season.
This would be a positive move for Sheerin, as it would show progression in the club for other staff members, which could galvanise Aberdeen as a whole. The fact that Sheerin knows the club well could also be an advantage to him.
Sheerin is priced at 10/1 to step up and become the next permanent manager at Pittodrie.
The final manager on this list is Paul Lambert, with the Scotsman currently out of work having left Ipswich Town via mutual consent in late February, with the East Anglian club eighth in League One.
Lambert hasn’t managed a team in Scotland since the 2005/06 campaign where he was a player-coach at Livingston. The 51-year-old is in desperate need of a positive spell in management, having being sacked by four of his last five clubs, with the only exception being that at Blackburn in 2015/16 where he triggered a clause in his contract after the club’s relegation to League One.
The managerial role at Aberdeen could be a good opportunity for Lambert to rebuild his career, as it is not a role where you have to win the league to be successful, qualifying for the Europa League via third place is usually the expectation of the club due to the quality of Rangers and Celtic. This is a more than doable task, which might suit Lambert, as all of his latest roles have had a lot of pressure on them.
Lambert has the odds of 14/1 to take what would be his sixth managerial job in six years.
