The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Pittodrie trophy cabinet
Gothenburg Great Alex McLeish believes Derek McInnes’ decision to reject Sunderland may make him even more sought after by clubs south of the border.
McInnes would have earned a salary of around £900,000 if he had accepted the job at the Stadium of Light.
But after talks with Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain, the 45-year-old opted to remain with Aberdeen.
Sunderland’s financial difficulties and uncertainty over the club’s ownership are likely to have been a major factor in McInnes’ thinking.
But former Birmingham and Aston Villa manager McLeish expects McInnes to be linked with more English clubs.
He said: “Derek maybe felt there wasn’t a route to get out of the division in that first season with Sunderland.
“It is a very tough league. I was there with Birmingham and we managed to get promoted but it is a topsy-turvy division.
“If you don’t get up at the first time of asking then it can become very difficult.
“Derek has raised his profile with Aberdeen’s great performances in Scotland.
“He must have felt this job was not right for him and that it wasn’t going to enhance his career.
“But the fact that Derek has turned down Sunderland may make him even more sought after.
“He has made his decision and we don’t know what will unfold in the future.”
McLeish would surely have been among the likely contenders for the Aberdeen manager’s job had McInnes joined Sunderland. But the former Dons player says he is not looking to return to Scottish football at present. He said: “I will keep working in the media until I get an opportunity to do something again. “My ambition is not to just get a job, it is to get a job at a club where I feel I can win something. That is not to say I couldn’t do that at Aberdeen. “Derek has gone very close at Aberdeen and I think I could carry that on. But I have done the Scottish thing and I am looking to try something new.”