Aberdeen make 'unanimous' Barry Robson decision after three candidates interviewed from six-man shortlist

Aberdeen have confirmed Barry Robson will continue as head coach of the first-team until the end of the season after impressing during interim charge.

The former Dons midfielder stepped into the role following the departure of Jim Goodwin at the end of January. Alongside assistant manager Steve Agnew, Robson steered the team from seventh, nine points off third-place Hearts to fourth, just four points behind the Gorgie side, with four wins from his six matches.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack revealed three candidates were spoken to, one of which was Robson, before it “was unanimously agreed” by the board for him to continue in the role with Agnew.

“The club embarked on a clear and patient process where director of football, Steven Gunn, led the vetting of all inbound applications as well as managing an outbound search, teaming up with an external agency, to unearth candidates that matched our criteria,” Cormack said. “Once the potential manager pool was down to six candidates, Steven and chief executive Alan Burrows, together with non-executive Directors Willie Garner and Stewart Milne, conducted interviews. Three candidates, including Barry, met with this group in person for further, in-depth discussions over the last week.

“The board subsequently met to debate the outcomes of these interviews and discussions. It was unanimously agreed that Barry should continue in his role initially through to the end of the season. We believe that continuing the momentum, high standards and energy that Barry has instilled in the squad, with only nine league games to go, is critical to the Club achieving its goal of European football next season.”

Robson revealed his delight and spoke highly of the players in the club’s turnaround.

“Both Steve and I are delighted and honoured to be asked by the board to continue in our current roles and to demonstrate our ability to lead the team in the longer term,” he said “We have had a tremendous reaction from the players, and they deserve a huge amount of credit for the way they have bought into the things we have asked them to do.

“I fully understand what our objectives are between now and the end of May, and I will work as hard as I possibly can, together with the excellent staff group at the club, to deliver on those expectations.”