With Aberdeen sitting eighth in the Premiership at the halfway stage of the season, the club’s decision to part ways with manager Jimmy Thelin on Sunday evening comes as little surprise.
Thelin led the Dons to Scottish Cup glory back in May, but the team’s form in the Premiership had been underwhelming for some time. Given Aberdeen’s ambitions to be at the sharp end of Scottish football, the Swede had run out of road and change was required.
Aberdeen also have a recently-appointed sporting director in the building with Lutz Pfannenstiel, a well-travelled German who has spent time in the United States and beyond. He will play a leading role in identifying the new head coach.
Here, we take a look at some of the potential routes Aberdeen can go down:
Look within Pittodrie
Aberdeen are fortunate in that they have a ready-made caretaker manager in Peter Leven, who has done the role twice before when Barry Robson and then Neil Warnock left the hotseat.
Leven was part of Thelin’s coaching staff and is seen within Pittodrie as a dependable, safe pair of coaching hands with experience of Scottish football. He was recently linked with the Kilmarnock vacancy.
Leven will preside over tonight’s match against Rangers at Ibrox and most probably against the same opponents at Pittodrie on Sunday. The rest of the January fixture list includes a Scottish Cup tie at home to Raith Rovers and league games against the bottom two teams in Livingston and Kilmarnock.
Chairman Dave Cormack has been stung before by appointing an interim boss in Robson, only to axe him six months later. Nevertheless, this latest caretaker stint is an audition for Leven.
“I’ve got my own ambition to be a manager, but I’m just taking it game by game,” Leven said on Monday. “They’ve not told me [how long I will be in charge], I’m just focused on tomorrow night.
“The players have got to take responsibility. I had a chat [with them]- a few home truths. It’s sad that Jimmy’s lost his job, but the games are coming thick and fast and I’ve got to pick them up for tomorrow.
“It’s a clean slate, a fresh start. I’ll pick the team that I think is good enough to get a result tomorrow.”
Best bets close to home
The early favourite with the bookmakers to replace Thelin is St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson, who recently guided the Buddies to silverware with the Premier Sports Cup. He has undoubtedly taken the Paisley side to new heights and does not have much more room for growth.
Aberdeen have plundered St Mirren in the past when they hired Jim Goodwin in 2022. His tenure was largely unsuccessful.
The most eye-catching coach is currently Motherwell’s Jens Berthel Askou, who has the Steelmen sitting fourth and being talked up as a title contender. The Dane only arrived at Fir Park last summer and has immediately instilled an attractive brand of football. A move to Pittodrie would feel sideways at best in this present moment, and there is a feeling he is destined for greater things.
Ayr boss Scott Brown is the second favourite, while Falkirk’s John McGlynn and Dunfermline’s Neil Lennon are other names that have been bandied about. They do not immediately feel like the best fit for Aberdeen’s model, sitting under a sporting director.
Scotland coach Steven Naismith, who guided Hearts to third spot, may not have the profile Aberdeen are looking for either – and he is very unlikely to leave the national team set-up with a World Cup on the horizon.
Going outside the box
Aberdeen broke with recent tradition when they appointed a foreign boss in Thelin from Elfsborg. His arrival came after a long and extensive club review from a German consultancy. Their model aligns much more with continental outfits and with Pfannenstiel now in position, there is a good chance the net will be cast far and wide.
Pfannenstiel’s executive career since 2011 has taken him to Hoffenheim and Fortuna Dusselforf in his homeland as well as St Louis City SC in the United States. He has worked with a vast array of coaches and has a bulging contacts book. It is why coaches such as Uwe Rosler and Olof Mellberg have been touted, men that he has worked with in the past.
When announcing Thelin’s exit, Aberdeen made it clear that Pfannenstiel would have a big say in what direction they turn to. The 52-year-old looks like a potential kingmaker.
Options down south
Trying to identify potential candidates from England is a needle-in-a-haystack job but some of the names quoted include ex-Rangers boss Michael Beale (very unlikely), Brian Barry-Murphy of Cardiff City, Lincoln’s Michael Skubala, experienced EPL assistant coach Billy McKinlay and ex-Brighton man Simon Rusk.
Pittodrie will be inundated with applications from south of the border – the question is whether they will tickle the fancy of Pfannenstiel and Co.