Barry Robson opens up on being Aberdeen manager, his demands and being able to have a Chinese meal now

The sun was beating down on the city of Aberdeen on Tuesday afternoon as Barry Robson met with the media for the first time since being appointed as the club’s permanent manager.

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson has certain demands of his players.

Congratulations and handshakes all round for the likeable 44-year-old, who until the start of the week only held the title on an interim basis. But seven victories in a row, which has propelled the Dons into third place in the Premiership and five points clear of the chasing pack, was only really going to have one outcome: the job for keeps. Robson is popular with the players, the fans and the directors. He has earned his two-year deal alongside assistant manager Steve Agnew and European football looks likely at Pittodrie next season provided the team can safely navigate five post-split fixtures.

For Robson, this is the fulfilment of an ambition since retiring from playing in 2016. The former Aberdeen, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland midfielder has always wanted to become a coach and served an apprenticeship with the Dons’ academy structure. He has grasped his chance since Jim Goodwin’s sacking back in January. A man who breathes football, being the main man suits him.

"It was always in my head as a player,” Robson said of management. “The older and older I got, I always wanted to be one. When you love football as much as I do, it's hard to come out of it and do something different. It was always something I wanted to do, I always wanted to make decisions. Obviously I'm having to make a few now.”

Robson demands hard work from his players. Giving 100 per cent is non-negotiable. That is clear from the team he sets out every week, built on discipline, organisation and energy. Their last outing, a 2-0 win over Rangers at a raucous Pittodrie, is likely to have sealed the deal with his superiors.

"Do I demand? Yes,” said Robson. “Do I expect things done right? Yes. Do I want my players to be disciplined? Yep. I'm not asking them to beat five players and put it in the top corner, I'm asking them to do things that we can all do. That for me is a non-negotiable, just give us everything when you are on the training pitch and live your life well when you are off it. Be disciplined. If you do that, then you have much more of a chance of your talent coming out.”

Robson preaches what he practised as a player. A committed type, he admits to relief at the day he retired from playing, only to bounce straight into coaching the following day. “When I was a player, I was really determined and driven,” explained Robson. “I want my teams and players to be driven. I want them to work hard because I knew I got success out of the game by doing that. I've said it before, when everyone says it's okay to give 100 per cent, go and try and give 100 per cent all the time – it's not easy. But if you're a player and you want to think 'I'm not feeling it' then it's easy to fall off a little bit, it takes really talent to focus and work and give that all the time. And it's draining. And that's what I want from the players. The day I retired from football, it was a relief for me, because you put that much into it. That for me is what gives you every chance of being successful.”

Some habits are hard to shake. Robson can now partake in the odd meal out but he’s still as committed as ever. “It is continuous [as a player]. When you go home at night, you need to eat right. Maybe some of your friends are going out for a curry on a Thursday night and you say ‘I can’t because I have a game’. You are thinking about your body and I always had to feel like I had to sleep really well. To be at my maximum when I played. That is not as bad now as I can go and have a McDonalds with the kids now or I can have a Chinese now and again. I might have one tonight. But then the guilt is still in you because I always get up the next day and go for a run.

“That always stays with you. It is a good thing but also a bad thing. It becomes inbuilt in you. It became inbuilt in me as a player. Now as a coach there are different demands. When I go home at night and I’m lying in my bed I’m thinking have I done enough today? Have I given the right message? Have we worked hard enough? That sits in your mind. Obviously you also worry about if you have made the right decisions. You will get decisions right but you will also get ones wrong as well. And you can go to bed at night knowing you have done everything possible in your power. Then I can sleep.”