Of all the many ‘to do’ items that lay in Stephen Robinson’s inbox when he took charge of Aberdeen last week, preserving the club’s top-flight status was always going to be top of the pile.
Given the club’s alarming slide down the table over recent months, the Northern Irishman’s main task has been to stop the rot and steer the club away from any threat of relegation trouble.
A point against Falkirk in his first match at the helm last weekend was at least a step in the right direction, although it could have been a lot better were it not for the concession of a late equaliser at Pittodrie.
While the Dons are not out of trouble yet, sitting only six points clear of the relegation play-off spot, the quality and experience that Robinson possesses as a manager should be enough to secure safety in the final eight games.
A trip to face Rangers at Ibrox this evening is then followed by a visit to Robinson’s old club St Mirren in Paisley, before a home game with Hibs rounds off the pre-split fixtures.
That’s for the here and now, but Robinson is already thinking ahead to the summer. The mess he has inherited means there is likely to be a summer of revolution in he Granite City.
Stephen Robinson has already started to make changes at Aberdeen since taking over
Aberdeen have a very cosmopolitan squad, having cast their net far and wide over the past couple of years. There is nothing wrong with that approach, of course. So long as a club can meet their quota of homegrown players, there is nothing to stop them from looking abroad to make up the rest of the numbers.
Results also have to be delivered, though. Problems start to arise when a manager is failing and the foreign imports are simply not up to scratch.
Robinson’s predecessor Jimmy Thelin was backed with significant investment to sign players from all over Europe, but precious few of them have been able to make a tangible, long-term impact at the club.
Towards the end of Thelin’s time in charge, a thread appeared on an Aberdeen fans’ forum which claimed the Dons had lost part of their identity. The recruitment policy simply had not worked as intended. This is what makes the appointment of Robinson, a manager with a proven ability in plucking hidden gems from the lower leagues in England, so fascinating.
During his time in charge of St Mirren and Motherwell, he leaned on good contacts down south, as well as having a good eye for a player himself.
He was asked earlier this week about the major rebuild that will be required in the summer. Robinson hinted that the club’s recruitment focus may be more UK-based as they look to prioritise players with the necessary character to thrive in Scottish football.
Pressed for his thoughts on the current squad, after he held a recruitment meeting with sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, head of recruitment Darren Mowbray and analyst-scout Ross Clarkson, the 51-year-old said: ‘I believe we’ve got some very good individuals at the football club. I believe there’s a lot of strengthening needs to be done through the spine and core of the team as well to cope in the Scottish Premiership.
‘It’s a unique league – that is something that takes everybody a long time to get used to – and it’s important we have that core that knows about it.
‘That might be UK-based and, obviously, there’s some very good players from outside the UK at the club already. Yes, certainly it’ll be a busy summer, we believe, and I’m looking forward to it.
‘Every player in the group you’re looking at has talent, and I think character is a big, big thing. You have to be robust. You have to deal with the criticism.
‘It’s a huge football club. There’s lots of opinions. Some more educated than others but, of course, everyone’s entitled to an opinion.
‘They (the players) have to have a strong character. They have to deal with that, and make sure they’re able to convey their talent and put it onto the pitch for 96 minutes on a Saturday and a Tuesday or Wednesday night.
‘That character and their background, that is something we look into massively. I’ve always done that with my players. I create a culture of players that have that character – and we intend to do the same again.’
The majority of what Robinson said made perfect sense. It’s just solid, joined-up thinking to try and build a core of players who understand the club, the league, and the environment.
But you do wonder where that leaves sporting director Pfannenstiel in the grand scheme of things, having only joined the club last October.
Speaking at the time of Pfannenstiel’s appointment, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack had said: ‘In particular, his technical knowledge, academy development experience and global recruitment network were key factors in the board selecting him for this critical role.’
By eventually appointing a manager on their own doorstep, and one whom Pfannenstiel was unlikely to have endorsed initially, Aberdeen have effectively rendered his role redundant.
Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel has divided opinion since his arrival at Aberdeen
There remains a belief in some quarters of Scottish football that sporting directors are to be avoided like the plague, that they interfere and undermine the manager. Those attitudes are dated and unhelpful. It is a simple reality of modern football that most well-run clubs operate with someone in that role, whether as sporting director or director of football.
The key to happiness is that they have to align with the manager – and that is where it is difficult to see Robinson and Pfannenstiel working together in the longer term.
Robinson is a manager who has built his success on having a fair degree of control over recruitment, and signing physically robust players from around the UK.
When Pfannenstiel was appointed, his remit was to use his global network of contacts to help oversee the football department.
Maybe Aberdeen can still enjoy the best of both. But it’s difficult to see how those two things align, especially if Robinson can start to bring some success by doing things his way.
He has already started the clearout. It was announced this week that Tony Docherty and Peter Leven have both left their positions on the coaching staff.
The summer will bring a multitude of other changes, both in terms of the playing squad and the backroom staff.
Whether or not Pfannenstiel makes the cut, time will tell. He is well regarded by Aberdeen chairman Cormack and the club’s chief executive Alan Burrows.
He arrived with a glowing reference from sources that Cormack trusts. But his long-term future remains unclear.
When it comes to Robinson and Pfannenstiel, in the fullness of time, Aberdeen could be a city and a club that just ain’t big enough for the two of them.
