Aberdeen hero's sobering verdict on lost identity, Cormack's big headache and Pittodrie's revolving door

The Dons' ongoing struggles resulted in manager Stephen Robinson being sacked on Monday, with the Northern Irishman relieved of his duties after eight months in charge as results continued to fall short of expectations.

Aberdeen’s hierarchy scheduled a hastily-arranged meeting to discuss the 51-year-old’s future in the wake of a 4-0 defeat at home to Hibs on Saturday, which left the Pittodrie side languishing in 11th place in the Scottish Premiership table.

With concerns surrounding the direction of the club, McLeish feels the problems confronting Aberdeen extend beyond the man in the dugout as he pointed towards poor recruitment, player confidence and a lack of collective identity as key issues which have all resulted in Robinson’s downfall.

Having witnessed the commitment Cormack has shown to the club, McLeish believes he will be feeling the weight of responsibility more than most after standing by his beloved team through some particularly difficult periods.

“Dave is a close friend and I know he's done everything in his power to try and get the Dons to a level,” he said. “We've seen a Scottish Cup final victory a couple of seasons ago. But the league positions are not what Aberdeen fans expect.

‘He will be agonising. You know what it’s like if you get something wrong, you can't sleep at night, can you? Dave will have been through all that kind of rigmarole as well. There'll be a big burden on him right now.

“But he's been stoic and he's stood by the club. He has to be given massive credit for that. It's just about getting Aberdeen to cement their name back at the higher echelons of Scottish football.”

McLeish voices concerns about Aberdeen

That 2025 Scottish Cup triumph under Jimmy Thelin had offered hope that Aberdeen could use it as a springboard towards challenging more consistently at the top end of the league. Instead, the club have found themselves repeatedly struggling to establish the momentum required to compete with the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.

The frustration for McLeish is that the rebuilding process has yet to deliver the sustained progress supporters have been demanding.

“I've not got a solution unfortunately, but it's obviously down to acquiring players of a certain level,” he declared. “So, do they have to look at their recruitment? Is it just players that have lost their identity, lost their confidence? These are two massive factors in the world of football.”

The inevitable consequence of a prolonged run of poor results is that the manager becomes the most vulnerable figure. Robinson found himself in precisely that situation, with McLeish claiming that the pressure may have become impossible to withstand as results showed no signs of improving.

He has sympathy for Robinson, particularly given the difficulties of trying to turn around a struggling team when the responsibility for recruitment and squad construction is shared across the club.

“Is it down to recruitment? Are the players not good enough? The manager will always get the worse side of it, because they can't sack 20 players. It's sad to see. I like Stevie, I met him a few times down south and I thought he'd be good for Aberdeen. But, like everybody else, it's trying to get a team to function together.

”To have forwards that you know can score, to have midfielders that can show a bit of quality, eating a man, one-twos, being accurate with your passing. Every bit of quality factor comes into it. I'm just hoping Stevie can get a couple of good results, but it may even be too late, I don't know.”

The wider concern is Aberdeen's inability to re-establish themselves as a club opponents genuinely fear. McLeish believes fans have been waiting several years for a sustained return to prominence, with occasional moments of encouragement failing to translate into lasting progress.

“We've been waiting on it for four or five years. There's been some signs,” he reflected. “There's been obviously winning the cup that year. You think that's a wee springboard for the coming season and then it's all kind of middle of the league, lower end of the league. What is the solution? It's definitely always down to what kind of players you've got.”

*Alex McLeish was speaking at the announcement of William Hill as Official Sponsor and Proper Supporter of Walking Football Scotland. To find your nearest game visit walkingfootballscotland.org.