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.

Exclusive – Aberdeen chief Dave Cormack: Jimmy Thelin rates back-up strikers, but Bojan Miovski will only go for ‘right price’

Cormack spoke to The Press and Journal about the Dons on Friday after accepting an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack receives an honorary doctorate from Robert Gordon University. Image: RGU.
Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack receives an honorary doctorate from Robert Gordon University. Image: RGU.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack revealed manager Jimmy Thelin has “high expectations” of strikers Ester Sokler and Peter Ambrose – but the Dons will only sell star man Bojan Miovski this summer if they get “absolutely the right price”.

US-based Cormack was recognised with an honorary doctorate of business administration by Robert Gordon University (RGU) at P&J Live on Friday.

Speaking to The Press and Journal at the event, Cormack said there have still been no bids for 25-year-old North Macedonia international Miovski – who netted 26 times last season – despite him being linked to a move away from Pittodrie which would be sure to net Aberdeen multi-millions.

Cormack said: “We haven’t had any bids in for Bojan.

“He’s a great lad, he loves it in Aberdeen.

“All things being equal, if the right offer comes in that’s right for Aberdeen, and right for the player, that’s our model.”

Aberdeen' Ester Sokler celebrates with Bojan Miovski after scoring to make it 2-2 in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic. Image: SNS
Aberdeen’s Ester Sokler celebrates with Bojan Miovski after scoring to make it 2-2 in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic. Image: SNS.

Cormack says recently-appointed boss Thelin thinks highly of Sokler, one of Miovski’s attacking understudies last term, and Ambrose, signed from Hungarian outfit Ujpest during the window.

However, he also says Aberdeen’s hand will not be forced over the future of Miovski, who is contracted until 2026.

Cormack added: “Jimmy has high expectations with Ester and obviously with Peter as well – but we’re not forced to sell or have to sell Bojan this summer.

“It would have to be absolutely the right price.”

Chairman Cormack trying to be hands-off at Aberdeen but will meet Thelin next week

Cormack insists he is trying to be less involved in the day-to-day running of Aberdeen now, and is keen “everything goes through” chief executive Alan Burrows.

He does intend to catch up with Swedish boss Thelin in person following Wednesday’s opening pre-season friendly against Peterhead.

Thelin is two weeks into pre-season with his new squad after his arrival from Allsvenskan outfit Elfsborg.

Cormack said: “I’m trying to… back off is the wrong word… but Alan’s the chief executive and everything needs to really needs to go through him.

“My wife Fiona and I are going to the Isle of Skye on Saturday for four nights and five days, for a holiday.

“I’ll see Jimmy probably after the Peterhead friendly. I’m going to go up to that and probably down to Queen of the South (for the Premier Sports Cup group stage opener), and then we’re going home (to the US).

“I’ll try to catch up with Jimmy – but I probably talk to Jimmy once a week.

“He deals every day with Alan and (director of football) Steven Gunn on all of the transfer stuff.”

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has already signed three players in the transfer window. Image: SNS
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has already signed three players in the transfer window. Image: SNS.

Cormack: I’ve NEVER signed a player for Aberdeen and Jimmy makes final call on transfers

Cormack underlined all incoming transfers will be approved by Thelin, with several candidates matching the gaffer’s requirements provided by Gunn and the recruitment team.

The chairman thinks his own involvement in Aberdeen’s transfer dealings in recent windows has been misrepresented, saying: “I don’t know where all this stuff started out from – I’ve never signed a player for Aberdeen Football Club.

“I’ve been asked to pay for a lot of players!

“Every manager I’ve worked with as a director, vice-chairman and chairman, from Derek McInnes all the way through, the manager has made the final decision on every player – bar none.

“I typically talk to the manager twice a week, normally before a game – maybe a Friday – for a ‘how’s the week gone?’, just to encourage them and wish them all the best for the game at the weekend, then maybe a day or two days after the game for just a catch-up and chat – again, really only to encourage.

“The manager, at the end of the day, even though we’ve got this model in place, will have the final say on players coming in.

“It’s incumbent on Steven Gunn, the recruitment team, to come up with three, four, five or six players who fit the profile, and start going through those with the coach, and then letting the coach make the final decision.”

‘Jimmy will need two or three windows’

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin puts the team through their paces in Portugal. Image: Ross Johnston/Newsline Media.

Observers of Thelin’s work at Elfsborg, which saw him lead the club to two runners-up finishes in the Swedish top-flight during his tenure, have reflected it took 18 months to two years before the manager’s efforts began to produce success on the pitch.

Asked what success looks like for Thelin in his first one or two seasons at Aberdeen, Cormack said: “From our perspective, I think Jimmy is going to need two or three windows to put into place what he wants to put in place.

“We aspire to play in Europe each year.

“We hope Jimmy is here for a long, long time, and he’s got the track record over the last eight years with two clubs – the last six with Elfsborg – of building. He’s a builder.

“He’s also somebody who believes in youth getting an opportunity. When he was still at Elfsborg, he was instrumental in wanting to let Fletcher Boyd know that he wanted him part of the squad, which was a key part of Fletcher signing a three-year contract with us.”

Cormack thanks RGU for ‘very kind’ doctorate honour

Garthdee-raised Cormack said he was “surprised” to receive the honorary degree from RGU – despite his remarkable career in software.

He added: “Steve Olivier, the vice-chancellor, called me and said they wanted to bestow it on me and I thought it was very kind of them.

“It’s funny, because my eldest daughter, Sarah, has a PHD – a ‘real PHD’ as she calls it – she’s a political economist in the States, but it’s just a nice recognition for the family, and I appreciate it.

“Fiona graduated in 1981 and we got married in 1982, and my sister-in-law and two nephews graduated from RGU as well.”

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack, with Steven Gunn, left, and son Craig. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Cormack founded and ran several successful software firms – London-based Soft Systems, and Miracle Workers and Brightree in the US, generating more than $1 billion in shareholder value.

In 2018, the businessman, who primarily lives in Atlanta, Georgia, became chairman of Curve Dental Software and helped grow the company substantially since its formation.

Former interim Dons chief executive Cormack stepped up from vice-chairman to take over from Stewart Milne as Pittodrie chairman in 2019, with the Cormack family having contributed significantly to funding the training ground which bears their name, Cormack Park, at Kingsford.

Meanwhile, the Cormack Family Foundation is focused on helping young people in the Granite City and abroad, and has generously supported several charities including the Aberdeen FC Community Trust, Clan Cancer Support and Maggie’s Centre.

In 2020, the foundation donated £100,000 to RGU to establish the Cormack Family Scholarship Programme focusing on widening access to higher education.

Conversation