Aberdeen are still on the search for a new manager following the sacking of Jim Goodwin after their humiliating 5-0 and 6-0 defeats by Hearts and Hibernian on either side of a shock 1-0 loss to sixth-tier side Dorvel in the Scottish Cup fourth-round.
Following some poor form since the resumption of the Scottish Premiership after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Dons have slid all the way down to sixth place with 35 points from 27 matches, seven points adrift of third in the table Hearts.
Scottish Premiership - 1st Phase | Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Rangers | 33 | 25 | 4 | 4 | +47 | 79 | |
| 3 |  Aberdeen | 33 | 17 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 53 | |
| 4 |  Hearts | 33 | 14 | 6 | 13 | +7 | 48 | |
| Last updated 28/11/2023 | ||||||||
Former Dons boss Derek McInnes has moved in from an initial long-shot candidate to joint-favourite for the job, having seen his price move from 66/1 to 2/1. Many Aberdeen fans will have fond memories of the 51-year-old’s time at the club despite the poor end to his spell at Pittodrie.
McInnes managed Aberdeen between April 2013 and March 2021, winning 202 and drawing 75 of 378 matches, equating to a win percentage of 53.44%. During this spell, McInnes lead the Dons to a Scottish League Cup final victory in 2013/14, while also finishing as runner-up in three other cup finals.
Since departing Aberdeen, McInnes has since taken the reins at Kilmarnock, who he managed to win the Scottish Championship with last season.
Former Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has been linked with a return to his former club, Aberdeen.
The 66-year-old played for the Dons between 1977 and 1984, winning eight trophies including a Cup Winners Cup. Strachan is currently the Technical Director at Dundee and has had a decent managerial career, managing the likes of Coventry City and Southampton in the Premier League between 1996 and 2004 before making the move to Celtic where he won six trophies in four years, including three Scottish Premiership titles.
Strachan's last role as manager saw him take over the Scotland national side between January 2013 and October 2017, where he won 19 and drew nine of his 40 matches in charge, failing to qualify for any international tournaments.
Ex-Celtic captain Neil Lennon is one of the favourites according to the bookmakers.
The former Northern Ireland international has not managed a side in Great Britain since he left the Hoops in February 2021 with his team faltering badly in their attempt to win a tenth Scottish Premiership title in a row.
His last job, in general, came as manager of Omonia Nicosia, where he oversaw 29 matches, winning 11 and drawing eight, leaving him with a win percentage of 37.9%.
As a manager, the 50-year-old has won five Scottish Premiership titles, as well as four Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup having managed the Celtic Park club between March 2010 and May 2014, as well as his most recent spell from February 2019 until February 2021.
Lennon also managed to earn Hibernian promotion back to the Scottish Premiership in the 2016/17 season and consolidated the Easter Road club’s place in the SPL. Prior to leaving Hibs in January 2019 by a mutual agreement, he had overseen his side finishing fourth place in 2017/18.
Interim Manager, Barry Robson is the fourth favourite for the job and is priced at 5/1 to get the job on a permanent basis.
The 44-year-old made 60 league appearances as a player for the Dons between 2013 and 2016. This is the second time that Robson has been Interim Manager of the club, having fulfilled the same role when Stephen Glass was sacked back in February, last year. During this spell, Robson managed Aberdeen to a 1-1 draw with St. Johnstone.
This time around, Robson has overseen a 3-1 loss to St. Mirren and a 3-1 victory over Motherwell.
Having never had any other form of managerial experience, this would be a great opportunity for Robson's career prospects if he was to get the job and things were to go well - so far Robson has managed the Dons four times, winning two and losing two.
Current St. Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is also in the running for the vacancy at Pittodrie.
Robinson has been the manager of St. Mirren since February 2022, overseeing 46 matches in charge, winning 15 and drawing ten matches in charge. Previously, the Northern Irishman has been the coach of Oldham Athletic where he won just seven of his 33 matches in charge, before recovering his managerial career at Motherwell, winning 71 and drawing 30 of his 169 matches at Fir Park. Robinson lead the Well to the Scottish League Cup final and Scottish Cup final in the 2017/18 season, but, lost both finals to Celtic.
Prior to his current job at St. Mirren, Robinson managed Morecambe where he won just ten of his 40 matches, however, yet again the 48-year-old looks like he is repairing his reputation, with St. Mirren being fifth in the Scottish Premiership.
Hammarby Manager, Marti Cifuentes is reportedly on the list of names to replace Goodwin at Pittodrie.
The 40-year-old Spaniard has made a decent name for himself outside of his homeland, having coached Danish side Sandefjord, winning 33 and drawing 26 of his 81 games in charge, leading them to promotion back to the top-flight of Danish football, while earning their highest league finish in 11 years the following campaign as they finished 11th in 2020.
Following on from this, Cifuentes moved to Aalborg where he took charge of 40 matches, winning 17 and drawing 11, leaving them in fourth place as he left to join current side Hammarby due to the Allsvenskan side activating his release clause.
So far in Sweden, Cifuentes has won 24 and drawn nine of his 39 matches, equating to a 61.54% win percentage, overseeing an impressive third-place finish last campaign, seeing them qualify for the Europa Conference League.
Chris Wilder is in contention for the vacancy at Aberdeen, which would potentially be seen as a major coup for the Scottish Premiership side.
The 55-year-old was sacked as Middlesbrough manager earlier on this campaign having won 18 of his 45 matches in charge at the Riverside Stadium with his record being significantly worsened following a run of two wins in his last 11 matches which left Boro in the relegation zone. However, despite this setback, Wilder will be fondly remembered for times at other clubs he has managed.
Notably, Wilder took Sheffield United to the Premier League via finishing as runner-up in the Championship during the 2018/19 season, this was after winning League One with the Blades in 2016/17. On top of this, he has also managed promotions with the likes of Alfreton Town, Oxford United and Northampton Town.
Former Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley is also on the lookout for a new job, having recently had his contract terminated by the South Coast club.
The 44-year-old lost his job at Fratton Park last month having failed to win a league game for over two months, leaving Pompey in 12th, while his overall managerial record of the club lies at 42 wins and 27 draws from 97 matches, equating to a 43.3% win percentage.
Cowley previously managed Huddersfield Town in the Championship for a total of 40 matches, winning 13 and drawing 11, consolidating the Terriers' place in the division during the 2019/20 season.
His three-year spell at Lincoln City will be remembered as his best managerial spell to date, having won two promotions from the National League (2016/17) and League Two (2018/19) by winning each division, on top of this, the Imps also won the EFL Trophy in 2018, while being the first side in over 100 years to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup outside of the Football League in the 2016/17 season.
Livingston manager David Martindale is priced at 33/1 to become Aberdeen’s next manager having done a superb job with his current side.
The 48-year-old has managed Livi 108 times, winning 42 and drawing 25 times, equating to a win percentage of 39%, He even managed to take the club to the Scottish League Cup final in the 2020/21 season where they were defeated by St. Johnstone.
So far this campaign, his side are seventh in the table which is a huge overachievement and he has recently received plenty of praise for it, hence why he received Manager of the Month in November last year.
Former Sunderland manager Jack Ross is also in the frame for the role at Aberdeen.
The 46-year-old is also out of work, having been sacked by Dundee United in the aftermath of their 9-0 loss to Celtic in August - seeing him depart the club with just one win from his opening seven matches as manager.
Prior to this, he had been manager of Hibernian, where he had a decent record as he won 47 of his 96 matches in charge, even leading the Edinburgh club to a Scottish League Cup final, but, he was sacked just ten days prior to this event, with his side’s style of football being regarded as too dull.
Ross could count himself slightly unfortunate to have been sacked at Sunderland, having lead the club to the EFL Trophy finals and the play-off final in the 2018/19 season, falling agonizingly short on both occasions to Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic.
His time at St. Mirren will go down as his most memorable, having won 2017/18 PFA Scotland Manager of the Year after guiding the club back to the Scottish Premiership.
Paul Lambert is in the fray to be Aberdeen's next manager, with the Scotsman currently out of work having left Ipswich Town via mutual consent in late February 2021.
Lambert hasn’t managed a team in Scotland since the 2005/06 campaign where he was a player-coach at Livingston. The 53-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 this role is all about earning qualification for European competitions on a frequent basis, with finishing in the top two positions being regarded as a major overachievement.
Ex-Aberdeen player Derek Adams has been linked with a move back to the club, despite currently being employed by Morecambe.
The 47-year-old Scot’s current side are just outside the League One relegation zone with 31 points from 33 matches, however, the Shrimpers are on a tight budget in what is a very competitive league. Last season, Adams returned to the Globe Arena to help the club successfully fight against relegation following his sacking from Bradford City.
Before his spell at Bradford, Adams had earned promotion from League Two with Morecambe against all odds via the play-offs in the 2020/21 season. This wasn’t the first time that he had earned promotion from this division, having finished as runner-up with Plymouth in 2016/17.
Adams managerial career started with two spells at Ross County, where he managed to win the Scottish Second Division in 2007/08, as well as the Scottish First Division in 2011/12, while impressively finishing as runner-up in the Scottish Cup during the 2009/10 campaign.
