Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin wants Peter Leven to remain at Pittodrie after confirming the coach has been granted permission to hold St Johnstone manager talks.
Fellow Premiership side St Johnstone made an official approach to the Dons to open dialogue with assistant first-team coach Leven regarding their vacant managerial post.
The Pittodrie hierarchy have given the go-ahead for the 41-year-old to speak to Saints, who are searching for a new boss having recently sacked Craig Levein.
Leven and Larne’s Northern Irish league title-winning boss Tiernan Lynch are both on St Johnstone’s shortlist.
Thelin said: “Peter has permission to talk to St Johnstone.
“So far so good – he is focusing here and helping us prepare for our game tomorrow.
“We want him to stay here, but it is good he is getting this recognition from another club.”
‘It will be up to Peter what he wants to do’
St Johnstone had held talks with former Aberdeen, Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown, who is manager of Ayr United.
However, Brown opted to pull out and signed a new contract with Ayr, the current Championship leaders.
Leven is on St Johnstone’s short-list due to his impressive shift as interim manager at Aberdeen last season.
He was placed in interim charge following the exit of Neil Warnock with Aberdeen in danger of being dragged into a relegation play-off scrap.
Leven led the Dons to a nine-game unbeaten run in the Premiership to kill off any relegation threat.
Aberdeen finished seventh in the table, top of the bottom six, to lay the foundations for Thelin’s arrival in the summer.
He has become a valued part of Thelin’s backroom staff.
Thelin said: “Peter is a good coach and it’s good that our staff have eyes on them.
“After that, it will be up to Peter what he wants to do.
“Always if you lose staff and players, you would miss them, of course.
“Then you’d have to find solutions for the future.
“But when good people do good things, they get eyes on them.”
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