Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said he had to axe boss Jim Goodwin after being left “embarrassed, humiliated and shell-shocked” by recent form.
Cormack also apologised to Aberdeen supporters and says he feels he has let them down as the hunt for a new manager begins.
The chairman sacked Goodwin immediately after the Reds crashed to a humiliating 6-0 loss at Easter Road.
Goodwin is the third manager disposed of by Cormack in two years as he also wielded the axe on Stephen Glass and Derek McInnes.
Cormack to remain in Aberdeen until new boss is found
United States-based Cormack is set to meet with the board on Sunday to begin the hunt for a new manager and will remain in Aberdeen until a new boss is appointed.
Aberdeen are without a manager with just days left before the January transfer window closes at midnight on Tuesday.
The heavy defeat at Hibs came just days after Cormack demanded an “immediate response” from Goodwin and his team after exiting the Scottish Cup to sixth-tier Darvel.
That loss on Monday was the worst defeat in the club’s 120-year history.
Aberdeen have won just once in 10 games since the winter break.
An emotional Cormack said: “I feel I have let our supporters down.
“Embarrassed, humiliated and shell-shocked at the last week is the words.
“That’s how our fans feel. I feel for them and I apologise to them.
“The results since we came back from the World Cup have been wholly unacceptable.
“I saw our fans there today, 1,700 of them and I feel for them.
“Personally I feel like I have let down the supporters.”
‘Jim came up, gave me a hug and said it wasn’t good enough… but players need to take responsibility, too’
Within 20 minutes of full-time of the Hibs hammering, Aberdeen confirmed Goodwin’s 11-month tenure as boss was over.
A clearly emotional Cormack, who also appeared to break down in tears during his BBC Radio Scotland interview, met the press after the match.
He insists Goodwin, who had another 18 months left on his contract, also accepted his time was up.
Goodwin’s assistant Lee Sharp was sacked alongside the gaffer.
Following an unacceptable run of results since the World Cup break, the Club confirms it has parted company with Jim Goodwin and first team assistant manager Lee Sharp with immediate effect.
More to follow. pic.twitter.com/a6iUK2EGgL
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) January 28, 2023
The Dons chairman also insisted the players, in a squad rebuild by Goodwin at a cost of £1.5 million in the summer, are culpable alongside the departed coaching team.
But in football, Cormack accepts “it is always the manager that gets it”.
Cormack said: “I met with Jim who is a thoroughly decent guy.
“Jim came up, gave me a hug and said it wasn’t good enough. Jim didn’t need to say more than that.
“He has given it everything he could give. The simple fact is our away form is totally and utterly abysmal, unacceptable.
“The players need to take responsibility, too.
“It is always the manager that get it.”
Cormack happy to take his share of blame
Prior to the winter break, Goodwin had led Aberdeen to third place in the Premiership and had secured a League Cup semi-final slot.
However, the Dons form went into a nosedive following the break.
Aberdeen exited both cup competitions this month, with many fans calling for Goodwin’s sacking following the Scottish Cup loss to minnows Darvel.
Cormack said: “I am the chairman and take responsibility when things go like this, when you have to part company with managers.
“It doesn’t really matter that things off the field commercially and otherwise are going well, that our Academy is going well.
“At the end of the day, first-team results is what matters and our fans deserve better.
“I apologise to them. It has been a really tough period of being home here.”
Cormack added: “It has been a really tough time for everyone.
“I apologise to our fans because they deserve better.
“I am chairman of the club, 64 now and first went to Pittodrie when I was six years old and fell in love with the club.”
‘A decision Jim and I both said we immediately needed to make after the game’
Goodwin was appointed manager in February last year with Aberdeen paying compensation to St Mirren to land him.
The 41-year-old was defiant ahead of the Hibs match, but admitted he was operating on a “game-to-game basis”.
His time ran out at Easter Road.
Cormack said: “I feel for Jim and his family and for Sharpie (Lee Sharp) his assistant.
“They are two guys who have lost their jobs.
“Jim is a very honourable and decent man.
“Honest, trustworthy, transparent and I feel for him.
“But this is a decision that Jim and I both said we immediately needed to make after the game.”
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