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 Don Bobby Clark: Aberdeen need to develop a new culture

Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Bobby Clark.
Former Dons goalkeeper Bobby Clark. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Former Dons goalkeeper Bobby Clark believes changing the culture in the Aberdeen dressing room is key to the club’s hopes of putting a tough couple of years behind them.

Clark, who played for Dons from 1965 to 1982 where he won all three domestic trophies, insists stability in the Pittodrie dressing room is vital following two years of significant change within the first team squad.

Aberdeen have utilised their full quota of loan players by having eight in the current squad and, while Clark understands why the Dons felt the need to freshen up the squad last month, he believes short-term fixes are not the solution.

The former Scotland goalkeeper said: “I read 17 new players came in this season and some have already gone out. There could be 16 going out in the summer.

“It’s very difficult to create a culture in your dressing room with so many loan players.

“It’s easy for them to think: ‘I’m only here on loan and I’m moving on.’ It’s easier for a loan player to chuck it when the going gets tough.

“In my era, you didn’t have loan players.

“It’s very different now and it adds another layer of difficulty for managers in trying to put a squad together.”

Clark recalls George Murray’s caretaker stint in charge

The Dons are searching for their third manager in two years after the last two – Jim Goodwin and Stephen Glass – lasted less than 12 months in charge in their respective tenure.

Barry Robson is in interim charge, while the recruitment process is carried out.

Clark went through a similar experience during his time at the club when George Murray took charge for four games in the 1975-76 season following Jimmy Bonthrone’s resignation.

George Murray was caretaker boss for four games in 1975.

He said: “George was Jimmy’s assistant so were fortunate in that things didn’t change very much.

“When I was there Aberdeen never sacked a manager – Eddie Turnbull left for Hibs and Jimmy resigned as he was feeling the pressure.

“It was the first year of the 10-team Premier League and two were relegated, so it was a pressure cooker that season.

“The manager feels the pressure often more than the players and I think that was the case with Jimmy.

“You’re always sorry when a manager goes out the door as you always feel as if you should bear some of the responsibility.”

Murray was a trusted lieutenant for Dons bosses – but end of his interim spell was tough moment for Clark

Clark’s hopes of impressing new boss Ally MacLeod were dashed when MacLeod had barely gotten used to his new surroundings.

He said: “I tore my medial ligament in the Motherwell game with Ally sitting in the stand. I had to have meniscus surgery at that time and missed a big chunk after that game.

“It was just the way I landed, but I tore the ligament and nicked the cartilage so that’s my main memory of George’s brief spell in charge.

“George had been a player and player-coach for Jimmy, and stayed on as coach for Ally and for a little bit with Billy McNeill.

Former Aberdeen manager Jimmy Bonthrone.

“Jimmy was a lovely man and I often felt the Eddie and Jimmy combination was very good for us.

“Eddie didn’t trust many people, but he did trust Jimmy.

“Jimmy softened Eddie – he was a great coach, but tough, and Jimmy had a softer side, so they were a good partnership.

“But when Ally breezed in he was certainly different from Jimmy and Eddie before him.

“He certainly did a great job as far as getting the team going again and, of course, we went from fighting relegation to lifting the League Cup the following season.”

Clark’s coaching inspiration started at Pittodrie

Clark’s time at Pittodrie led to him developing his own desire to become a coach and he credits the guidance of his fellow coaches at the club as being crucial in his own development.

He said: “My last game really was winning the league in 1980 as I had to have back surgery and during that period I couldn’t do a lot.

Former Aberdeen goalkeeper Bobby Clark after the Dons won the league under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1980.

“After I started coaching at the club, I worked with Lenny Taylor and Teddy Scott. I coached the youth team with Lenny and went with Teddy and the reserves.

“Teddy was a good person to learn from and I learned a lot of good things from him.

“One time he had to go with the first team and I remember taking the reserves for a game.

“I was a caretaker for Teddy with the reserves and was given tablets to take for my back so I could play in the game I was coaching the team for.

“After that I was always a head coach in my own right in Zimbabwe, New Zealand and the college scene in the US.”

Conversation