Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Former Aberdeen boss salutes chairman Dave Cormack’s support for Stephen Glass

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass (l) and chairman Dave Cormack
Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass (l) and chairman Dave Cormack

Former Aberdeen manager Alex Smith believes Dons chairman Dave Cormack deserves credit for standing by his manager.

Following a fifth successive Premiership defeat, at Dundee in October, Dons boss Stephen Glass was under intense pressure, prompting the club chairman to take to national radio and issue a passionate defence of his March appointment.

Cormack’s strong case for the appointment of Glass from Atlanta United and why he was the right man to lead the Dons has been followed by an upturn in the club’s fortunes, with Aberdeen ending 2021 back in the top half of the table.

Smith knows there is still room for improvement at Pittodrie, but is delighted the chairman stood by his man.

He said: “I’m pleased the Aberdeen chairman stuck by his manager.

“When someone of Stephen’s background arrived at Pittodrie he knew the club as a player, but it is a very different challenge going in as a manager.

“He was coming in after a manager who had been in charge of the team for eight years.

“That’s a long time in the modern game and there’s an ingrained culture and identity associated with how Derek McInnes ran the club in his time there.

“Dave Cormack knew all that and, given how confident he was with who he brought to the club, it would have been incredible to give up on that within a matter of months.

“He made a passionate defence of his manager when he needed it and it has had the desired effect.

“It let everyone, from the players to the fans know the chairman was right behind Stephen and it has given everyone some breathing room and a chance to bed in and get going.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass has got things going at Pittodrie.

“I think it is clear there is still a long way to go for the club but the signs are much more encouraging now.”

Patience is paying off at Pittodrie

Smith is aware of the challenges Glass would have faced after replacing a long-term manager at the club, having been a long-term boss himself earlier in his career.

That is why seeing the Dons have an inconsistent start to the campaign did not come as a surprise.

He said: “I experienced that in my own career at a lower level with Stirling Albion. I was there 12 years and after the first five seasons we had to sell players to keep the club in existence.

“That meant losing guys like John Colquhoun, Brian Grant and John Philliben, but it had to happen to keep the club going.

“When I joined St Mirren, the club went through a couple of managers as the policy of selling players to break even coupled with a different voice in the dressing room unsettled things for a while.

“It doesn’t change quickly, it takes time – and Stephen knows that at Aberdeen.

“We spoke earlier in the season and I told him the worm would turn if he stuck to his beliefs, and I’m pleased that we’re seeing his and the club’s fortunes turn.”

Brown’s influence key for Aberdeen

The former Dons boss, who guided the club to a cup double-winning season in 1989-90, insists team captain and player-coach Scott Brown’s role has been invaluable to the manager in helping Glass adjust to his new challenge at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass and Scott Brown.

Smith believes the influence of a player of Brown’s stature in the Dons dressing room should not be underplayed.

Smith said: “Without wishing to undermine the contribution of any previous player, Scott Brown is an outstanding player.

“Aberdeen haven’t had someone of his standing since the days when Willie Miller and I were manager.

“I had figures such as Willie, Alex McLeish, Jim Bett and Stewart McKimmie in my dressing room and that legacy continued when Willie took over.

The Dons’ legendary defensive giants – Alex McLeish and Willie Miller

“When you have senior players like the ones I’ve mentioned, plus Robert Connor and Brian Grant, in your dressing room, you are talking about players who had an aura about them.

“In Scott, Aberdeen have a player who has played at a big club for a huge spell of his career, but it is clear he still has that desire to be successful at Pittodrie.

“He has led by example and as a manager when you have trusted lieutenants to call on like that you don’t have to worry about managing your dressing room.

“They do that for you and, when the times were tough a few months ago, I have no doubt Scott would have been a key figure for the manager in that time.”