Former Aberdeen manager Alex Smith insists stability is essential if the Dons are to be a competitive force in Scottish football.
Aberdeen are standing by under pressure manager Jim Goodwin for now, despite the club’s shock 1-0 defeat at West of Scotland League side Darvel in the Scottish Cup on Monday.
Goodwin has not even celebrated a year in charge at the club while his predecessor Stephen Glass lasted 11 months.
Smith, who led the club to a domestic cup double in 1989-90, believes the constant turnover of managers has to stop.
He said: “Jim is the 11th manager the Dons have had since I left in 1992. Four of them have lasted less than two years.
“It’s not a sustainable or successful business model at all as every new manager who comes in after them has the same task of having to take on a rebuilding job.
“Aberdeen don’t deal in the same market that I did when I was in charge.
“I had a dressing room full of internationals and a great environment to bring youth players into.
“It’s not like that now.”
Goodwin has been under intense pressure, despite having only one full transfer window to build a squad.
Smith is pleased to see the Dons board back their manager, after the defeat on Monday labelled the worst in the club’s 120-year history.
He said: “It has been a difficult period for everyone concerned at Pittodrie and there are no winners here.
“The hard decision would be to back the manager, especially when so many fans are calling for his head.
“I feel for Jim. He’s a good lad, a knowledgeable manager.
“Jim was a young manager building his career following spells with Alloa and St Mirren and when the chance came to manage Aberdeen he couldn’t turn it down.
“I understand that as the Dons are a big pull.”
The former Dons boss, who now lives in Australia after retiring in 2018, also has sympathy for Dons chairman Dave Cormack and empathises with the frustration Cormack will be feeling at the recent run of results.
Smith has no doubts about Cormack’s desire to make the club a force again, but knows no amount of business acumen can guarantee success.
He said: “Cormack is a successful businessman who wants to take that success into the club he supports.
“He has great enthusiasm for the role, but no amount of levers put in place can make a football club a nailed-on success.
“I’ve seen it so many times. A chairman thinking: ‘I’ll eliminate the problems, put good people in place and back them and we’ll be a success.’
“But what no business can control is a ball bouncing the wrong way, a shot hitting the post, an offside decision going against you, an injury to a key player, a poor substitution or tactical decision.”
Former League Managers’ Association chief Smith is adamant there is no quick fix for the majority of clubs in Scotland.
He said: “The Dons remain a massively attractive proposition despite their recent struggles. It’s a huge job but a difficult one simply because of the financial gulf in the game.
“Look at Celtic – Neil Lennon had a horrendous final season in his second spell there but they had the means to bring in a new manager in Ange Postecoglou, totally overhaul the squad and win the league the following season.
“Aberdeen are in the building brick by brick phase and it’s a much more gradual process for them than it is for Celtic or Rangers.
“Craig Brown put some building blocks in place when he took charge of the club when it was rock bottom, Derek McInnes had a platform to build from and had some success… But with that success came interested parties in his players and replacing those bricks every season became more and more difficult.
“Stephen Glass and Jim have both had to start all over again.”
The news of Goodwin staying in post has not been warmly received by the Red Army.
Smith knows expectations of the Dons competing for the league title are low in the modern game, but he insists the demand for success and respectability remains strong among the Aberdeen support.
He said: “Aberdeen is a difficult club to manage from most in Scotland. I’d say Hearts are the most similar to them.
“Fans know they are not going to win the league due to the financial gulf which now exists, but they expect their club to be competitive in the league and play in Europe.
“They also expect to see their side reach the latter stages of cup competitions at Hampden and have a realistic chance at winning one of the two domestic cups.
“The chairman might have a plan which includes young talent being developed, promoted to the first team and sold on for a profit, but fans are firmly focused on the present.”
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