Stephen Glass insists the notion he landed the Aberdeen job due to an old pals act with chairman Dave Cormack is insulting to the club.
The Dons chairman appeared on national radio on Monday to back his manager following a run of 10 games without a win and five straight defeats, which has left the club ninth in the Scottish Premiership.
Cormack insists Glass retains the backing of the board at Pittodrie despite the run of poor results and rejected the idea the appointment was made because of anything other than the former midfielder’s qualification for the job.
Glass knows he cannot shake off that perception, given the duo were both based in Atlanta prior to his return to Scotland, but he is intent on repaying the support shown in him at Pittodrie.
He said: “Firstly, if the results don’t go right, they’ll believe they’re right.
“But I think it’s an insult to a lot of people. The chairman is not a single guy who picks the manager at this football club. I don’t think that’s ever going to be the case.
“There’s a group of people on the board who picked the previous manager and stuck by him and did very well for the club. Now they’ve chosen to put me in.
“It’s insulting to a lot of people and to be honest, there’s a clear agenda. I understand it, I accept it and I’ll try to prove the people right who believe in me.”
Dons boss grateful for boardroom backing
The Dons boss stopped short of going into detail on what that agenda is, but it is clear he believes it is his turn to be in the firing line, with the radio interview with Cormack in particular highlighting what he believes is a drive to push him out of the club.
He said: “His personality is to stand up for the club and the whole club feels the benefit of having a chairman like that. He showed that the other night.
“I listened to the show. I don’t listen to anything else, but I knew he was going to be on it.
“It sounded very much like they were pushing the chairman towards saying he should be sacking me.
“But he held strong to his belief that we are the right group of people to lead the club and the players are capable of getting ourselves out of the hole that we’re in at the moment.
“It was a bit surreal really. Listening to a radio show where basically the guys are trying to provoke the chairman by saying we think you should sack your manager.
“A little bit surreal. But you’re Aberdeen manager, you are not getting the results. I know it goes with the territory and I accept it.
“The support is appreciated. I hope to repay it. Only we can change the results and only we can change people’s ability to question us like that.”
When asked if he believes the agenda is from the media, Glass said: “No, the media is a big group of people.
“I know there are a lot of right-minded people in the media and there are a lot of people who are shock jocks if you like, and their job is to provoke and make noise.
“If it is not me it will be another manager. It is pretty evident there are people out there and that’s their job.”
Critics are ill-informed
Glass’ former Dons team-mate Peter Hetherston is among those to criticise Glass’ appointment, claiming the Dons boss is not ruthless enough for the job and is too nice.
The Aberdeen manager, not one for paying much heed to articles, has taken note of Hetherston’s remarks.
He said: “Someone sent me that article last night. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest and it doesn’t surprise because of who wrote it.
“But it goes with the territory. You lose games and you open yourself up to criticism.
“There is a personal insult in there from someone I’ve not spoken to for 25 years.
“He must be a hell of a good judge of character if he can judge me from distance, not having spoken to me for 25 years. That’s all I’ll say on that.”