Neil Warnock poised to land Aberdeen manager's job - and it could be done before Rangers match

Talks have progressed well between 75-year-old and Dons as they search for interim Robson successor

Neil Warnock is edging closer to becoming the new Aberdeen manager until the end of the season.

The 75-year-old veteran coach has been out of work since leaving Huddersfield Town earlier in the season and according to multiple reports, the Englishman is poised to take over at Pittodrie from Barry Robson, who was sacked last week. Warnock has never managed in Scotland but has also never hidden his desire to work in the Premiership and has a reputation for rejuvenating teams that are either underperforming or fighting relegation. Warnock has been locked in discussions with Aberdeen in the latter part of this week about a move north and those talks are understood to have progressed well.

Aberdeen, who drew 1-1 against Celtic under caretaker manager Peter Leven on Saturday, currently sit seventh in the Premiership. Their next match is against title-chasing Rangers on Tuesday and Warnock could be appointed before then. He is expected to be given a contract until the end of the season while the Aberdeen hierarchy, led by chairman Dave Cormack and chief executive Alan Burrows, spend the rest of the season hunting for a long-term manager.

Veteran manager Neil Warnock's last job was at Huddersfield Town earlier this season.

Warnock is one of English football’s most colourful managers and has taken charge of the following clubs in a 44-year coaching career: Gainsborough Trinity, Burton Albion, Scarborough, Notts County, Torquay United, Huddersfield Town (twice), Plymouth Argyle, Oldham Athletic, Bury, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace (twice), QPR (twice), Leeds United, Rotherham United, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough. In his last stint at Huddersfield, he guided them to safety in the Championship last season despite them being seven points adrift in the relegation zone in March.

Warnock has applied for the Aberdeen job in the past and also expressed interest in vacancies at Hearts. He has invested in properties across his career in Scotland and said in an interview last year: “I love Scotland – I've always wanted to manage in Scotland. I have never had any offers, although I think I was close to Hearts once, but they gave it to an idiot from Latvia! So they obviously didn't want me.”

"I've got bricks in the wall at Greenock Morton because that's our local team as we have a house at Dunoon. My wife Sharon's grandparents came from Dunoon, so from the 90s we've gone up there. It's so peaceful. We play golf at a course called Blairmore and Strone. It's beautiful and so relaxing – and it's helped me in my career. I've been able to go up there at different times, during international breaks, and clear my mind."

Speaking about when he applied for the Dons job in the past, Warnock said in an interview with the BBC. “I applied for the Aberdeen job once and didn't even get a reply, which I thought was bad manners. I had a lad called Laurent D'Jaffo playing up there and I asked him what it was like and he said 'gaffer, yes come, but it is the only place I've ever known where the seagulls don't land – it's that cold.”