Former Aberdeen captain Darren Young believes getting players and fans to adopt this philosophy is key to the good fortune of the Dons’ next manager.
Aberdeen’s search for a new manager is coming to an end, and the club hopes to call up a new boss before the return to national action next weekend against Ross County.
As Dons chairman Dave Cormack and his board cast a wide net in their recruitment pursuit, enthusiasts can only rejoice at the second appointment in club history.
Elfsborg coach Jimmy Thelin has withdrawn from the race because the procedure is coming to an end.
Young played under former Dons boss Ebbe Skovdahl and was named captain during the Dane’s tenure from 1999 to 2002.
The 45-year-old, who is the manager of Stirling Albion, believes Scotland’s good luck stories are those of other people who have gone to pass on their concepts.
He said: “You have to adapt and accept the coach who has to transmit his philosophy.
A number of other people ruled him out when he arrived at Celtic, just as they did Philippe Clement at Rangers before he even walked through the gate.
“These guys succeed or fail depending on the players they sign and how they adapt them to their taste for playing.
“That’s the point. If enthusiasts can see what a manager is looking to do and accept it, it will work well.
“When you don’t get the acceptance of the players, you don’t get effects and you don’t get the fans, that’s when you run into problems.
“That gray domain in the middle, where the functionality is there but the effects are coming, saves you time, but you’re still expected to have turned those presentations into effects at some point. “
Skovdahl’s arrival in Scottish football was a tricky one at Pittodrie, as the team failed to score a goal in a six-game losing streak at the start of the 1999 season.
It wasn’t until the tenth league game that the Dons picked up their first win with a remarkable 6-5 win at Motherwell.
The Dons finished last in the SPL but reached the final of either domestic cup before Skovdahl led the team to seventh in his second qualifying season and then to fourth in the 2001–02 campaign.
Young believes that the evolution of football has made the appointment of a foreign coach less complicated for clubs.
He said: “It would be a less difficult transition now than under Ebbe Skovdahl if Aberdeen went down that path.
“Nowadays, players have to adapt to a coach, otherwise they’re out.
“Everything is more performance-oriented and results-oriented. Players can still have fun, but today the culture is different.
“Again, I looked at Postecoglou when he arrived at Celtic. He was able to get his ideas into paint for the club and they were a huge success.
“He deserved to sign for the English Premier League, the biggest league in the world, and now he has been able to put his concepts into practice at Spurs.
“You can see the effect of having the right user and their ability to convey their concepts in a club.
“They also want smart players, but taking Postecoglou as an example, the way they’re playing from this season to years past is night and day under his command.
“I know they’ve suffered tough defeats, but the fans love the way they do their job, even if their players don’t win every week. “
Cormack has always called for winning, attacking and entertaining since he replaced Stewart Milne as club president.
Young, however, knows it can be tricky for both, as former Dons managers discovered.
He said: “There were one or two coaches in the future who finished third or fourth, triumphed in the semi-finals and cup finals and went on to Europe every year when their team wasn’t betting very well.
“But what they had were groups that could just fight and get rid of them. It depends on what you want.
“Are they spins or are they a team that plays passes, passes, passes and is fun to watch but struggles to win games consistently?
“Everyone wins and has fun, and I’ve experienced that at the clubs I’ve been to.
“The periods following Jimmy Calderwood and Derek McInnes have not been wonderful for Aberdeen.
“I look at the players that those guys have lost in a normal way year after year because they were doing well. They would target boys for little or £50,000 and then sell them for big profits.
“When you locate a piece of jewellery, as soon as they get it right, they have the opportunity to triple their salary and you can’t do that in Aberdeen, so you have to accept an offer, sell it and check it out to start again. “Again.
“It’s hard to locate this gem. “
Having noted that the Dons have appointed three coaches — Stephen Glass, Jim Goodwin and Barry Robson — since Derek McInnes left the club in 2021, Young believes the club wants stability.
The former Dons captain, whose side faced Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup last season, says it’s natural for players to feel doubtful because of the changes in management.
He said: “All coaches have the opportunity to get things done as soon as they arrive.
“If you’re a club and you’ve appointed a coach, I think you have to let him go to build something.
“The addition of a coach now is obviously with an eye on next season. You might get a perk if you give them a little bit of appreciation.
“That’s why I found the appointment of Neil Warnock complicated.
“Here comes a guy who won’t be there next season and some of the players were maybe wondering what was going on.
“I wouldn’t have done it, I’m a fool anyway, it doesn’t matter who I played for, but I wonder if the club looks back and thinks they’ve wasted valuable time with their approach.
“But when the new coach comes in, he gets back on his feet and has momentum in his approach.
“A new coach reacts quickly because it’s transparent what’s going on and who the players want to impress. “
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