Willie Miller: Every Aberdeen player will have to fight for Pittodrie future under the new manager

Every Aberdeen player will be fighting for their Pittodrie future when the new manager is eventually appointed.

With Aberdeen in an unacceptable position in the Premiership players must accept the harsh reality that their Pittodrie career will be under threat.

The squad will be under the microscope as the new boss assesses performances in both games and training.

Aberdeen’s new manager will have to look at absolutely everything on the playing side and that includes attitude and approach.

I would assume whoever is appointed permanent boss will have already had lengthy conversations with the board where he will be looking for guarantees he can make the squad changes he feels are needed.

The new manager will have to come up with a plan for the new season.

So he must be given the scope to bring new players in and mix up the squad in the summer transfer window.

There’s no point taking in a new manager and having him handcuffed to the players that are at the club now.

The same players that have underperformed in the Premiership to the extent they are only three points off the relegation play-off spot.

I’m sure the scope to make major squad changes will be agreed in negotiations with the club and new manager, whoever that is.

Support to make changes needs to be found and that is down to Pittodrie’s board of directors.

Aberdeen players will all know they will be fighting for their futures and that they will have to impress the new manager.

However I would like to think players fight for their future every time they put the Aberdeen jersey on.

That they battle for the club as well.

Aberdeen supporters expect the club to be in the top six and targeting third place.

It looks likely Aberdeen will be in the bottom six after the split so a major rebuild will be needed during the summer.

However, the first priority for the new manager must be eradicating the fear of finishing in the relegation play-off spot as quickly as possible.

I think the squad is strong enough to achieve that but avoiding that threat must be reinforced to the new manager as the immediate priority.

So the sooner he is appointed the better, and ideally before the huge home clash with Ross County on Saturday.

That is an absolutely massive match that Aberdeen must win.

I don’t think the new manager can have conversations with players about their futures before the fear of the relegation play-offs is gone.

Once it has gone he will have to get into the bones of rebuilding the squad and work closely with the board to make sure next season is far brighter.

The longer the wait on appointing a new boss goes on the more frustrated everyone becomes – fans, players, club and probably even the managerial target.

Aberdeen’s stated a new manager would be appointed during the international break but that is now nearing an end.

When he stepped down from the role of interim boss Neil Warnock said the club were close to appointing a new manager – and that was some time ago.

It is dragging on a little bit and we can only hope the new manager is appointed soon.

And this time the Pittodrie board have to appoint the right man to take the club forward.

A manager normally gets a job when things are going badly unless a boss has left to go to a bigger club and not been sacked.

So he must get the long shadow of the relegation play-off spot out of the way first.

Positives despite suffering 4-0 loss

Normally I would be depressed at Scotland losing 4-0 but that wasn’t the case after Friday’s friendly defeat by Netherlands.

There was concern about the final 15 minutes when the Scots collapsed at the back and there are lessons to be learned from that.

However before that Scotland made Netherlands look like an ordinary side.

And Netherlands are a top quality outfit.

There were more positives to come out of the 4-0 defeat than negatives.

The way Scotland played with the high press was impressive and the quality of their passing was at a high level.

Scotland had a number of opportunities to score in the loss in Amsterdam.

It was a wonder goal for Netherlands to take the lead.

For Scotland to have played as well as that even coming away with a 1-0 loss would have kept everyone buoyant and confidence high.

However when you let it collapse defensively late on there will always be that question in the back of the manager’s mind, and the players’ minds, that they are capable of doing that.

Once it gets into competitive games that will not be acceptable.

Yes,  you have to take the game to the opposition but you also have to make sure you are organised and disciplined.

The need for a leader at the back was there for everyone to see.