Aberdeen appoint Neil Warnock as manager on short-term contract

Aberdeen have confirmed the appointment of Neil Warnock as manager, with the veteran Englishman signing a short-term contract that runs until the end of the season.

The Pittodrie club have acted swiftly to replace Barry Robson, who was sacked last week after inconsistent results.

Warnock takes on his 20th managerial job, having begun his career in the dugout in 1980.

He has managed Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Cardiff City and won promotion with eight different teams.

Warnock will be assisted by Ronnie Jepson during his time at Pittodrie.

The 75-year-old has previously stated his wish to manage in Scotland at some point but looked to have missed out when he retired in 2022. However, Warnock returned to management last year and was Huddersfield Town boss for seven months.

The experienced manager will now be tasked with improving Aberdeen’s form and lifting the team from eighth in the Premiership.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge here at Aberdeen,” the new Dons boss said.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact I’ve always wanted to manage in Scotland so when I spoke to Dave and Alan and they asked me to help out it just felt like the right opportunity.

“By all accounts there is a good group of lads here and it’s my job now to get the best out of them.

“Aberdeen is a big club with clear ambition and I’m hoping that during my time here the supporters will get behind the team and I can put a smile on their faces.”

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said he was delighted to make the appointment and that the club will now look to complete a full review of the football side of the business ahead of the summer.

“From the moment we first spoke with Neil his enthusiasm for managing Aberdeen was infectious,” he said.

“He has had an incredible career in management, not only in terms of volume of games and winning promotions, but also of coming into clubs at short notice and making an immediate impact.

“We look forward to Neil, Ronnie and the team pushing hard in the remaining four months of the campaign as we still have a huge amount to play for both in the SPFL Premiership and the Scottish Cup.”

On the review, he said: “Ambitious clubs regularly invest in independent advice to support internal coaching, data analysis, recruitment, and medical teams with the goal of improving performance through continuous learning and development.

“The highly experienced team of independent advisors, who do this work with some of the best clubs across the globe, will make recommendations to allow us to understand what we can improve upon in terms of best practice going forward.

“The review will include benchmarking the Club against similar teams that currently outperform us in Europe.

“With this work well under way, and due to be completed by early April, we are aiming to have a new management team confirmed by the end of the season.”

Warnock will be in the dugout for the first time as Aberdeen manager when the team face Rangers at Ibrox on Tuesday.

Coach Peter Leven took charge of the team immediately after Robson’s exit and was in charge for just one game as Aberdeen drew 1-1 at home with league leaders Celtic.