Ex-Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes was ‘disappointed’ to see his former understudy Barry Robson sacked by the Dons.
The club parted ways with Robson and his assistant Steve Agnew this morning because ‘league results and performances over the course of the 2023/24 campaign have been well below the expectations set.’
He is the fourth Aberdeen manager to be sacked in just three years.
Derek McInnes was sympathetic of his former player who suffered the same fate as he did almost three years ago. He said:
“Disappointed as always. I think there’s been a lot of stuff been written and said about Barry’s position, I know how difficult that is for any manager, particularly a younger manager in that job.
“I think Barry earned the right for the job…
“He did well last season, he’s had to contend with a lot this season, none more so than when the heat comes on and results aren’t quite what’s expected.
“It’s extremely disappointing for Barry, of course it is. He’s a pal and I speak to him regularly.”
The Kilmarnock manager was also heavily involved in Barry Robson’s early development as a coach in the Northeast. He added:
“I signed him as a player, gave him two or three one-year contracts then towards the end of his career I had him playing regularly with the youth team as an overaged player and I seen how good he was with the younger ones…
“Between myself, the board and Stuart Milne we managed to create a role for him when he finished playing…
“After that first year I felt he was ready to take his own team and get the experience of running his own team and I gave him the U18s job, and he did very well with that.
“I always had him in the dressing room on a Saturday with me because he was very popular with the lads, he was a brilliant competitor, and his enthusiasm was endless. So, like I say, he’ll bounce back.”
The ex-Dons and Celtic midfielder is the fifth cinch Premiership manager to be sacked this season; a statistic that alarmed Killie boss Derek McInnes. He continued:
“No, I don’t, generally (think we give managers enough time) but I think that’s us five out of twelve (cinch Premiership managers sacked this season) …
“It’s still the case more so in England, there’s a lot more changes throughout the leagues there and I always thought we were better than that and I liked the fact that we were better than that.
“We were always a bit more patient with our managers and understanding.”
