Paul Sheerin, Barry Robson and Neil Simpson will boss Aberdeen for their Premiership meeting with Dundee United tomorrow.
The trio could be in charge for as long as the rest of the season, giving Dons chairman Dave Cormack time to find a replacement for long-serving boss Derek McInnes after his departure last week.
Tomorrow will be the seventh time a caretaker manager, in former midfielder Sheerin, has been handed the Reds reins.
"I do think Glass will be the eventual outcome, but I don't think Dave Cormack is going to cut corners"
⚽️🔴🎙️ Will Stephen Glass be the next @AberdeenFC manager?
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The 46-year-old, as well as ex-Scotland playmaker Robson, may even be hoping – aided by club legend and youth academy chief Simpson – they can stake a claim to be appointed permanently over the next few weeks.
Taking a team on a caretaker basis is a strange situation, and rarely “joyous” – as Simpson’s fellow Gothenburg Great Eric Black told the Evening Express earlier this week. Here’s how previous interim Pittodrie gaffers have got on:
George Murray (1975)
Record: Four matches – won two, lost two
Murray, who made 127 appearances at right-half for the Dons between 1967 and 1973, filled the gap between Jimmy Bonthrone’s exit and Ally McLeod arriving at Pittodrie.
Archie Knox (1986)
Record: Three matches – one win, one draw, one loss
Knox had already been Alex Ferguson’s co-manager in 1986, with the former assistant boss returning to the club to replace Willie Garner and shouldering more responsibility while Fergie prepared to lead Scotland to the 1986 World Cup.
Towards the end of 1986, when Ferguson left for Manchester United, Knox stayed behind to fill the gap until Ian Porterfield was appointed, before following Fergie to Old Trafford.
In his three games as caretaker, Knox oversaw a 0-0 draw with St Mirren, a 2-1 Tynecastle loss to Hearts in which John Hewitt netted for Aberdeen and a 5-0 hammering of Clydebank, with goals from Billy Stark (two), Robert Connor (tw0) and Hewitt.
Keith Burkinshaw (1997)
Record: Two matches – two draws
When Roy Aitken was sacked in 1997, director of football Burkinshaw took charge to give the club time to appoint Alex Miller, leaving when Miller arrived.
In the dugout, Burkinshaw achieved a 1-1 home draw against Rangers, with Eoin Jess firing in a 25-yard rocket, before the team recorded the same scoreline against Dunfermline at East End Park. Billy Dodds scored the Reds’ goal in the latter outing.
Paul Hegarty (1999)
Record: 20 matches – seven wins, two draws and 11 defeats
Former Scotland midfielder Hegarty took the reins for the remainder of the 1998/99 season after the departure of Miller.
After an upturn in form, things dwindled again towards the end of the campaign, with the Dons picking up just three points (against St Johnstone) from their last seven league games.
Still, his 37% win record was higher than both Miller, under who he’d served as assistant, and his successor Ebbe Skovdahl, but Hegarty was never offered the position permanently, despite steering Aberdeen away from the threat of relegation.
Gardner Speirs (2002)
Record: One match – draw
Speirs only bossed one game before Steve Paterson was brought in to replace Skovdahl, to whom Speirs had been assistant manager.
The Dons were on an eight-match winless run when Speirs was put in charge.
Nevertheless, he didn’t lose his solitary match, securing a 1-1 home draw against Motherwell, in which Darren Young netted for Aberdeen.
Neil Cooper and Neil Simpson (2010)
Record: One match – loss
Youth coaches and former players Cooper – who went on to manage Inverurie Locos – and Gothenburg Great Simpson, who is part of the current interim team, filled the gap left by Mark McGhee, taking the side for one game before Craig Brown’s arrival.
Unfortunately it wasn’t a happy afternoon, with the Dons going down 5-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle.
