McINNES WILL STILL WANT OUT
JOHN HARTSON reckons Derek McInnes still wants out of Aberdeen despite snubbing Sunderland’s big-money offer.
And the former Celtic favourite insists the Dons boss is lucky Pittodrie chiefs welcomed him back after he held talks with the Black Cats.
News that McInnes opted to stick with Aberdeen and resist the cash on offer at the English Championship side was seen as a sign of his commitment to the club.
But Hartson doesn’t believe McInnes’s heart is in it after he met Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain.
Hartson said: “It’s great for Scottish football you’ve got managers like McInnes but you can’t tell me he didn’t want the Sunderland job – I’m not buying that.
“Sunderland obviously wasn’t the right job but he’s clearly looking for a way out of Aberdeen.
“And if Sunderland had matched what he was looking for he’d now be their manager.
“McInnes may have felt he wasn’t sure about it once he spoke to them but the crucial fact is he went there in the first place.
“He was clearly given permission to speak to them but he’s lucky Aberdeen think the world of him and are delighted to get him back.
“In other situations, if you’ve shown you want out you’d be fortunate to be given the opportunity to go back.
“When you start talking to other clubs then a few alarm bells begin going off for the fans. They’ll be asking, ‘Is the manager committed to us? Because he wanted to go, didn’t he?’
“If things had added up at Sunderland he wouldn’t have come back but it’s not gone right for him down there and he’s not liked what he’s seen and heard.
“Why talk to other clubs if you’re happy? You just say, ‘I’m content here and I don’t want to speak to anyone else.’
“He’s gone down to Sunderland looking to get the job and then hasn’t been impressed.
“When I was a player and enjoying my football, I would tell my agent not to bother informing me about any other clubs who were interested in me.
“I also asked my managers not to bother telling me if anyone else came in for me.
“It was only when I was unhappy and looking for a move I would ask my agent to find me something else.”
Aberdeen have lost Ryan Jack to Rangers, Jonny Hayes to Celtic and Niall McGinn who is on the hunt for a new club.
And with the Light Blues strengthening under Pedro Caixinha, McInnes faces a harder task to finish best of the rest a fourth time.
Hartson added: “The difficulty there is you’re constantly having to replace your best players.
“Rangers are committed to Caixinha after making their minds up he and not McInnes was their man.
“It’s now about whether or not McInnes wants to go back down south.”