Next manager candidate set to watch Aberdeen v Celtic as major update given on search

Aberdeen have been searching for a new boss since early January after parting company with Jimmy Thelin. Sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel is leading the process and Norwegian coach Eirik Horneland recently emerged as the frontrunner. However, due to personal reasons, a deal has yet to be completed.

Now Schwarz, a 47-year-old German who is known to compatriot Pfannenstiel and has managed Mainz, Hertha Berlin, Dinamo Moscow and most recently New York Red Bulls, has entered the equation. He will be at Pittodrie to watch Aberdeen’s Premiership match with Celtic as the process continues.

In the meantime, Aberdeen continue to be led by caretaker Peter Leven, who is being assisted by Tony Docherty and Ian Burchnall, who arrived in the north-east last month. Cormack reiterated that the club will take its time in making the appointment.

“We had a shortlist of four candidates and narrowed it down,” said Cormack.” It's really important that we keep confidentiality. If candidates don't want us to talk about them, I'm not going to talk about them as we have to respect that.

"The situation we had with one of the candidates is that there was a personal challenge family wise and we have to respect that individual going through that process.

"What I will tell you - because he said it is okay to mention it - is that Sandro Schwarz is here visiting through to the Celtic game. He is visiting to check us out and vice versa. He is a top, top, top candidate and managed Berlin and Mainz in the Bundesliga. He is here and was okay with me mentioning it.

"This is Aberdeen, and you stay in a hotel and people see you and people like Lutz - who is quite recognisable - people are beginning to check things out. Sandro will be here for a visit and is a candidate”.

Wait and see on Schwarz

Asked if Schwarz could be the next manager, Cormack continued in an interview with RedTV: “That has got to be determined. We could have hired a coach and put somebody in place within one or two weeks.

"But would they be a ten out of ten fit we believe? For me, it's embarrassing that this is my sixth permanent appointment. You look at the rest of the league and the average tenure of a manager in Scotland is 1.2 years. I'm not saying that's acceptable but there is an expectation from fans and the board, rightly so on performances.

"We will take our time to get the right manager in place. Peter is doing this for a third time. He is an excellent coach and Tony Docherty is great at man management and was the ying to [former manager] Derek [McInnes] yang.

"We also have Ian Burchnall who was an assistant manager at Wolves coaching Brazillian internationals. We have got a good team of guys in there and our trust is in them for the rest of the season, if it needs to be the rest of the season."

Aberdeen have also revealed that Darren Mowbray has returned to Pittodrie as head of recruitment. Mowbray left Pittodrie to join Southampton in the summer of 2023, but his spell on the south coast came to an end last year. He had been helping the club on a consultancy basis during the winter transfer window.