Langfield in for long haul as Aberdeen hunt goes on

Published on Thursday 28 May 2009 22:57

JAMIE Langfield is excited by the calibre of candidates who have been linked with the managerial vacancy at Aberdeen.

Goalkeeper Langfield and winger Sone Aluko have been forced to confirm their commitment to the club after departed manager Jimmy Calderwood claimed the pair had threatened to quit Pittodrie.

Langfield, 29, is adamant he has no desire to follow Calderwood out of Aberdeen and is looking forward to working under the 54-year-old's eventual successor.

The likes of Motherwell manager Mark McGhee, Wigan coach Eric Black and Falkirk manager John Hughes have all been linked with the Pittodrie post and Langfield believes they are precisely the kind of managers the north-east club should be targeting.

"Just going by what they've done at their clubs, they're all great managers," Langfield told RedTV.

"It's up to the club to make the right appointment. Obviously, I read who the favourites are and these people are right up there."

With Calderwood having secured Europa League football in his final match in charge on Sunday, Aberdeen face an early start to next season. Langfield is hoping for a swift managerial appointment so the squad are prepared for the challenges ahead.

"You'd like to know there's someone in place," he said. "Pre-season's a massive part of the football year."

Langfield admitted he was upset by Calderwood's departure but denied he was ready to walk out over the matter. "Obviously I was unhappy because the manager left," Langfield said. "But never once have I said that I wanted to leave the club.

"I've been away on holiday and I've come back to all this; it's very disappointing. The fans voted me player of the year, which I was delighted with. Then, for something like that to come out is a bit of a nightmare.

"I'll just let everybody know I'm 100 per cent happy at Aberdeen. Never at any point did I say to the manager that I wanted to leave. I want to move forward with the club and hopefully we get the right person in that we can go forward with.

"Aberdeen isn't just about Jimmy Calderwood or Jamie Langfield."

Langfield revealed his wife had phoned him to inform him of Calderwood's comments.

"If my wife doesn't know that I want to leave, I don't think anybody would," said Langfield, who revealed he would gladly sign a contract extension.

"I'm sure if they want to talk about an extension that would be even better, but that's up to the club."

Langfield hailed the impact Calderwood made during his time at Pittodrie, where he twice took the team into Europe despite suffering a number of shock domestic cup defeats.

"It's been well documented that not winning a trophy became a bit of a hindrance for the manager," Langfield said. "But his league record's incredible.

"People go on about (Dundee United manager) Craig Levein, but every single year Jimmy Calderwood's finished above him."