Cooper urging Dons to seek out experience in search for new boss

Former Aberdeen coach Neil Cooper has urged the club to look to an experienced campaigner for the role of new Dons boss.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack has turned to Sir Alex Ferguson, the club’s most successful manager, for guidance in his search for the next manager at Pittodrie.

Ferguson has offered to be a sounding board to Cormack as he goes through the process of making his first managerial appointment and has urged the chairman to look to other experienced campaigners in Bobby Clark and Neil Simpson for support.

Cooper, who served the club as youth coach in two spells, is not surprised to see Cormack turn to Gothenburg Great Ferguson and believes the same experience should factor into Cormack’s decision on Derek Mcinnes’s successor.

He said: “The chairman has spoken to Sir Alex and has someone like Craig Brown he can turn to as well. He’s the last guy who took Scotland to the World Cup and like Sir Alex he has a wealth of experience in the game.

“My personal feeling is you need some experience in there. Recruitment is going to be key for Aberdeen this summer and someone who knows what they are doing and has a network of people they can rely on to give honest opinions on players they perhaps

haven’t seen will be so important.”

With nine players out of contract and four more due to return to parent clubs when their loans expire in May, Cooper believes this summer will be a vital one at Pittodrie in what is expected to be a close season of significant transfer activity.

He said: “There are a lot of decisions to be made in terms of the squad. You can see from recent seasons how tough it is to retain and replace players and one of the biggest challenges a manager has at Aberdeen is safeguarding the club.

“Aberdeen have lost key players like Graeme Shinnie and Ryan Jack for nothing and replacing these guys is tough. It’s so important the club tries to stop that happening as losing players of that quality for nothing is really challenging.

“Having contacts in the game are going to be more important than ever this summer.”

Ex-coach Neil Cooper.