LOSING BOSS MAY BE BLESSING FOR DONS

SOONER or later, even the brightest rays of sunshine are obscured by gathering storm clouds.

For Aberdeen fans, the news yesterday morning that former chief executive Dave Cormack was investing a chunk of his £567million personal fortune, plus his considerable expertise, in the club made it just about as agreeable as they come.

By lunchtime, however, the outlook over Pittodrie was distinctly gloomier. For the time being, Derek McInnes remains the club’s manager, but the fact his paymasters have engaged in discussions with Sunderland over a compensation package points towards that fruitful arrangement coming to an end.

After a four-year period in which every square inch of the club has been, to coin a familiar phrase, strong and stable, a period of flux now threatens.

The aftershock of McInnes’ likely departure may well resonate throughout the Scottish game. The CVs of both St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright and St Mirren’s Jack Ross will need no talking up to anyone inside the Pittodrie boardroom. Scottish football’s merry-go-round may be about to reach its optimum speed.

While there will inevitably be a degree of mourning in the Granite City for the impending departure of the first man in a generation to lift silverware, there will also be recognition that it might not be the worst thing for all concerned at this juncture.

Despite bristling at Pedro Caixinha’s recent suggestion, McInnes’ side have reached the end of a cycle. Ryan Jack, Niall McGinn, Peter Pawlett and Ash Taylor have all moved on. Jonny Hayes is likely to join them.

McInnes has spoken about his desire to replace quality with quality, but, privately, he must wonder if that’s possible.

While finishing runners-up to Celtic in all three domestic competitions last term was, in one sense, disappointing, it was, at the same time, laudable. Frankly, he’ll do well to repeat the trick next season.

Striking while the iron is hot is an art form in management. Recently demoted from the Premier League and with a debt last recorded at £110.4m, Sunderland do not have their troubles to seek. But they remain, in terms of support, an English institution. They still averaged over 41,000 fans last season — the seventh highest in the top flight. Not bad for a club that performed so abjectly.

McInnes also needs no one to tell him how blinded English chairmen can be to success in Scotland. Neil Lennon’s Celtic beat Barcelona yet he could fare no better than Bolton. Gordon Strachan had to make do with Middlesbrough after Parkhead. Alex McLeish previously left the Scotland job for struggling Birmingham.

A plum Championship job, which Sunderland most certainly remains, is just about as good as it gets for aspiring SPFL Premiership managers these days.

For McInnes’ paymasters, it’s not just the prospect of a healthy seven-figure compensation package that will ease the pain.

Stewart Milne may recently have spoken of his desire to see his manager remain in situ for several years to come, but, privately, the Aberdeen chairman would have appreciated that involved a degree of wishful thinking.

Of the top-flight managers in place at the end of last season, only Partick Thistle’s Alan Archibald was in his post when McInnes joined in April 2013. The wheel tends to turn quickly.

Given the extent of the restorative job required on the Aberdeen squad in the coming months, is it necessarily a bad thing if it is conducted by a new man with fresh impetus, ideas and contacts? Perhaps not.

Notwithstanding the fact that McInnes reserves the right to yet do that were he not to appreciate the finer detail of Sunderland’s sales pitch, it would be remiss of the Dons’ board not to be already considering his successor.

Wright’s credentials seem obvious to all apart from those tasked with recruiting for bigger clubs than St Johnstone of late.

If the Scottish Cup triumph of 2014 remains the Northern Irishman’s finest hour-and-a-half in the game, four successive topsix finishes and four European qualifications on one of the division’s lowest budgets speaks to the consistency of his work.

Ross, 12 years Wright’s junior at 41, is looked upon as the coming man of the Scottish scene.

In saving a seemingly-doomed St Mirren from relegation from the Championship last season, his stock rocketed to the extent Dundee made a clumsy attempt to hire him as their manager.

The pay rise he earned through that approach is unlikely to deter any would-be suitors who like the cut of his jib.

McLeish, a Gothenburg legend, has previously claimed he wouldn’t work in Scotland again after his stint at Rangers. Yet the man who went on to manage Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest counts a short spell with Zamalek in Egypt last year as his last involvement in the game.

A heroic return to Pittodrie for such an experienced figure would make much sense.

And what of his near namesake Alex Neil? Out of work since being sacked by Norwich in March, the 35-year-old former Hamilton boss might view Aberdeen as the perfect place to relaunch his career.

The parallels with post-Bristol City McInnes are many.

Each man would be advised to keep their phones on. The fact Aberdeen are due to play their first European tie on July 13 means every day of protracted negotiations between Aberdeen and Sunderland over compensation for McInnes and his deputy Tony Docherty is potentially a day lost.

Any would-be successor will have their work cut out to steady the ship and get it moving forward again.

The return to the club of Cormack, though, is one overriding positive. While the exact level of the former chief executive’s investment remains unspecified, the suggestion is it stretches to ‘several million’ pounds.

With the proposed new £50m stadium and training facilities at Kingsford still tied up in red tape, the 58-year-old’s acumen is likely to be every bit as valuable as his investment.

‘With Aberdeen being a oneclub city, being debt-free and having enjoyed the last few years of success, we feel there is an opportunity to kick on,’ he said.

‘Apart from the financial investment, I am coming on board to really help the club with some other initiatives to help us increase our turnover and increase the supporter base.

‘The club has proved in the last few seasons that it can punch above its weight and we think that can continue.

‘Aberdeen has been trying to find a new home for almost 17 years now. Should we be blessed that the council grants planning permission then the new facility would allow us to kick on as the game evolves in Europe.

‘We need better facilities to attract players, too.’