Aberdeen begin search for new manager after Stephen Robinson sacking following 4-0 home defeat
Stephen Robinson was sacked as Aberdeen head coach on Monday after his side lost 4-0 at home to Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership at Pittodrie on Saturday. The Northern Irishman departs less than eight months after his March appointment.
Robinson was appointed in March on a three-and-a-half-year deal after a period of pressure at St Mirren, having won the League Cup three months earlier but managed only one win in 13 Premiership outings. He had helped keep Aberdeen in the top flight last season with a late run of wins, yet leaves as the club's shortest serving full-time manager by games played. Aberdeen are second bottom in the Scottish Premiership, possess the joint-worst attacking record in the division and have won three of their 12 matches this campaign.
Supporters had their eyebrows raised at what was described as a panicky appointment as Aberdeen plunged towards a relegation play-off. Observers pointed to contrast elsewhere in Scottish football: John McGlynn has taken Falkirk to third on a fraction of Robinson's budget. After Aberdeen conceded four at Pittodrie, Falkirk scored five against Hearts at Tynecastle.
The player who kicked off Hibernian's rout was Jamie McGrath, who left Aberdeen on a free transfer in 2025 after the club declined to match the length of contract Hibs offered. McGrath's strike at Pittodrie was described as "an absolute stunner, arrowing into the top corner from distance."
The article traces Aberdeen's wider problems chiefly to chairman Dave Cormack's decision to replace Derek McInnes with Atlanta United's B team manager Stephen Glass in 2021; Glass departed less than a year later. On 3 March, Cormack gave an in-house interview in which he spoke of sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel's "global" search for Jimmy Thelin's replacement and said: "For me, it's embarrassing that we're having to go through my sixth permanent appointment," adding, "We will take our time to get the right manager in place."
Robinson's appointment on 12 March followed a sobering capitulation at Dunfermline which ended Aberdeen's Scottish Cup defence. Cormack had said then, "Make no mistake, we will be competitive next year," at a time when the club were eighth. Less than eight months later Aberdeen sit 11th, two points off the bottom and six behind Dundee United in sixth, while Dundee United's manager Jim Goodwin — sacked by Cormack in 2023 after his own Hibs humiliation — is described as orchestrating some of the most attractive football in the top flight.
Fans responded with a mixture of frustration and resignation. Sandra: "No hard feelings. Wish him well. Robinson got plenty wrong but shouldn't have been allowed to swap out a whole squad in his first gig at this level. The turnover of managers since our chairman came in is no coincidence, we are a shambles and I have no idea who could come in and sort this." Mango: "A club like Aberdeen should not be sitting 11th in the table but it has been coming for a few seasons. The board have allowed this to happen by letting our best players go and not reinvesting properly in established players. Robinson wanted these signings and his style of management was like a pressure cooker. He made rash tactical decisions and his game plan for most games did not work. I do heavily criticise the board. This next appointment will either make or break the club I've supported for over 25 years." Niall: "The enormity of the Aberdeen job was a step too far for Robinson. His opening remarks of building an attacking team with high press never materialised. Unfortunately, his successor will inherit another group of players low on quality, direction and confidence. Some of the blame must also lie with the recruitment team who have, once again, not delivered to an acceptable level. The next appointment needs to be much stronger to rebuild everything that is lacking just now but a huge task lies ahead given that the squad has already been rebuilt for this season following the Thelin debacle." Greg: "Was a panic appointment, but let's not forget what made the board panic was that they couldn't convince any of their preferred candidates to take the job. Got to wonder why a few top names took a look in the door and bolted." Graeme: "Gutted for Robinson. I think he should have been given more time. We need stability and we can't keep sacking managers. Aberdeen have been a bottom-six team since they got rid of McInnes. We seem to turn decent managers into poor managers, then we sack them, they go elsewhere and are given time to prove themselves and thrive at another club. We have to get the next appointment right, let's try to entice John McGlynn or Neil Lennon."
The club's hierarchy — Dave Cormack, Lutz Pfannenstiel and new chief executive Adrian Bevington — have begun a fresh search for a permanent manager, with supporters questioning how long the next incumbent will last, particularly after a squad assembled by Robinson "disintegrated against Hibs."
