Dave Cormack explains why Aberdeen chose Stephen Robinson as Lutz Pfannenstiel has say on next manager

Robinson has signed a contract until the summer of 2029 and leaves St Mirren after four successful years in charge of the Paisley side, where he won the Premier Sports Cup and qualified for Europe. He is joined at Pittodrie by assistant coach Brian Kerr.

Aberdeen had been searching for a new manager since early January after sacking Jimmy Thelin. Peter Leven was installed as caretaker boss, but the Dons’ form has slumped and they are just eight points clear of the relegation play-off in the Premiership. They were heavily linked with foreign coaches Eirik Horneland and Sandro Schwarz before agreeing compensation with St Mirren for Robinson on Wednesday morning.

Robinson’s first match will be against Falkirk on Saturday and he has nine games left in the league to move Aberdeen up from ninth spot. Cormack is in no doubt the 51-year-old will make the Dons a tougher nut to crack for opponents.

“We are pleased to welcome Stephen and Brian to Pittodrie”, said Cormack. “Stephen is a proven leader with a strong track record of overachieving at Motherwell and St. Mirren, where he delivered three cup finals, including winning the Scottish League Cup this season, multiple top six league finishes, including a third place and qualifying for Europe twice.

“He has demonstrated he can consistently deliver strong results, punching well above the resources he’s had to work with, during the last eight years in Scottish football and proven he can build resilient, competitive teams with solid foundations.

“There is a strong desire to re-establish a clear identity for our club, to become harder to play against and restore competitiveness in our matches. For those reasons we believe Stephen is the right head coach to deliver exactly that.

‘We recognised the need to make the appointment quickly’

“He has also developed a number of young players at previous clubs which fits with our overarching ambition to be the best developer of young talent. Solidifying that pathway for our young players will be vital to his success here at Aberdeen.

“Nobody within the football club would dispute that performances and results this season have been unacceptable and well below that of what is expected here at Aberdeen. However, during these testing periods comes an opportunity to sharpen focus and re-evaluate where changes are required and given recent results, we recognised the need to make the permanent appointment quickly.”

Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, who arrived in Aberdeen late last year, was originally tasked with heading up the recruitment process.

The German commented on Robinson’s arrival: “Results have clearly not been what we had hoped for or expected in recent weeks. The board and I recognised we needed a new head coach in position sooner rather than later and Stephen, who was part of this process from the outset, was the clear candidate to take on the role now.

“He is a highly experienced coach with a strong track record of delivering results in this league and we believe he will bring stability in the short term whilst also providing the vision to build success for this club in the future.”

Robinson said he was left in no doubt that switching Paisley for Pittodrie was the right decision once the approach was made by the Aberdeen board.

“When this opportunity arose, there was no way I could turn it down,” he said. “Aberdeen has a tremendous history and there’s no mistaking it is a huge Club. The facilities and resources that will be at my disposal are excellent and more importantly, the fan base is tremendous so I’m excited to work for a club of this size and strive to take it forward.

“I appreciate it has been a tough period for everyone, but players respond to positivity so we’ve got to stick together going forward. We will put a team out on the pitch to get the points we need to finish this season as strongly as we can.

“Aberdeen have clear ambition, but it needs an identity, it needs direction and I aim to give the club that, so we need everyone to get behind myself, the staff and the players.”

After the appointment was confirmed, St Mirren thanked Robinson for his service and announced that Craig McLeish will be interim boss, starting with Sunday’s match against Rangers.

“St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Stephen Robinson has departed the club to join Aberdeen,” they said in a statement. “The board of directors and everyone at St Mirren would like to thank Stephen for the role he has played at the club during his four years in charge and wish him well for the future.

“While we are sad to see Stephen leave the club, he departs with the best wishes of everyone at St Mirren after four years of outstanding service. Thank you for your contributions, Stephen.

“An interim coaching team has been put in place with Craig McLeish working alongside Jamie Langfield and Allan McManus to take charge of first-team matters until a new management team is appointed.

“Craig has been part of the first-team setup in recent months following his involvement at senior level with the St Mirren Youth Academy for a number of years. He will work alongside Jamie and Allan who took interim charge of Saints prior to Stephen Robinson's appointment in 2022.”