Reasons for Neil Warnock’s Abrupt Departure from Aberdeen Boss role and Insights on Competing with Old Firm, Debunking Criticisms from Club Legend

Neil Warnock claims that a fear of taking money under false pretences drove him to quit Aberdeen.

The veteran manager was drafted in to steady the Pittodrie ship until the end of the season.

Warnock decided cut his time short after 34 days in charge after failing to win any of his six league games in charge.

And while the Swedish side are reluctant to lose their highly rated coach Warnock hopes a new man is given the time he needs to rebuild for next season.

‘It was my decision to go,’ Warnock told Mail Sport. ‘I just felt it was right for both parties really.

‘I just felt there was no way that I wanted to take money under false pretences.

‘I thought it would be better if they saved the money. I said to Dave (Cormack) that I felt that someone new had to come in and have a look at it for a good six or seven weeks if they can.

‘If they are going to be challenging next year they’ve got to be really bringing some players in that can play at that level.

‘That was my main advice. Get players in that they know can play at that level rather than data led signings.

‘I think it is possible to challenge those top two of Celtic and Rangers.

‘But to do it they need four or five players who can play in the Scottish Premiership.

‘I know it sounds silly, having been there and only had six games, but if you get some of your own signings that can do a job at that level you have a chance.’

Warnock stepped down on March 11, with Aberdeen still to appoint a permanent replacement.

Elfsborg coach Thelin is the first choice with the post and wants to try his luck in British football despite starting the new Swedish league season being underway.

Coach Peter Leven is expected to take charge once again for this weekend’s clash at Livingston.

Despite his short, unfulfilling stay in Scottish football Warnock has no major regrets over taking the post and believes the team will comfortably avoid any slump into the relegation play-off zone.

‘I thought they would have had a new manager by now if I’m honest.

‘They’ll stay up, no problem whatsoever.

‘I don’t think that was ever a question in our thoughts.

‘We still had all the bottom teams to play and we should have won points.

‘It’s a decent squad, but I just think they need four or five proven players at that level.

‘My only regret is that we threw daft goals away when we should have won games.

‘How we lost to St Mirren I will never know. Not in a million years.

‘I thought we should have won three games out of my five. Even the Rangers defeat was down to mistakes. I thought both goals were preventable.

‘The St Mirren goals, they were an absolute joke really. To concede like we did.

‘So Ronnie and I knew we wouldn’t be leaving them with a problem.

‘They will finish mid-table I think and then the new guy will come in under no pressure and have a good look at the squad and decide for himself.’

In an exclusive interview with Mail Sport, Neil Warnock reflects on his 34 days at the helm of Aberdeen… 

By Stephen McGowan 

Weeks after his rapid departure from Aberdeen, Neil Warnock is already planning a return to the north east of Scotland.

For £100 – and an extra £50 for those keen to take afternoon tea – Balmoral Castle will throw its doors open to members of the public over the summer months.

For the first time, visitors will gain access to two dining rooms, the drawing room, the page’s lobby and the red corridor, where King Charles greeted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Warnock spent Wednesday traversing the internet in a quest to get himself and wife Sharon to the front of the queue.

‘We saw they were letting people inside for the first time and we tried to get tickets online and couldn’t get any,’ he tells Mail Sport. ‘We tried all day on the website.

‘We wanted to try the afternoon tea for £150 and a look at some of the rooms.

‘I’d love to do that, because I’m a royalist me. It’s only 40 tickets a day and if you can get some tickets let me know. I might catch an Aberdeen game when I’m up.’

From here on, his involvement with Scottish football will extend no further than watching the odd game or two.

At the age of 75, with a few quid in the bank, he has a bucket of list of experiences he wants to work his way through.

Coaching a Scottish club was one of them and, while the experience was never as much fun as he hoped, his 34 days at the Pittodrie helm – eight games, two wins, two draws, four defeats – did nothing to dent his passion for life north of the border.

When he announced his shock departure from Aberdeen in the aftermath of a Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock the shores of the Holy Loch offered shelter and refuge.

‘I actually went to a Greenock Morton training session when I left.

‘I left Aberdeen and went to our place in Dunoon and stayed there for a few days to clear my head.

‘I just thought to myself, “let me go and clear my mind for a few days.” I then went across the water for a day to have a chat with Dougie Imrie and he invited me to training. 

‘They seem a good set of lads. And I felt they should have beaten Hearts in the cup game if I’m honest.

‘After Dunoon I took my time heading south, I saw the grandkids in York, saw my daughter in Leeds.

‘My brother is in Sheffield and I went round everybody. It took me a few days to get home.’ 

A managerial career which began at Gainsborough Trinity in 1980-81 encompassed 17 different clubs in the end. Some, like Huddersfield, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers, liked him so much they hired him twice.

At the age of 75 he was linked last week with a return to Plymouth Argyle. A good deal closer to his Cornwall home than Aberdeen the job would have suited him. With the Pilgrims heading in a different direction he suspects his race is now run.

‘I’m quite sure that’s me done now. There was talk of me going in at Plymouth but they’ve gone for a DoF and somebody else.

‘I would have helped them out because they are nice people, but not now.

‘I am going to focus on writing my bucket list now.

‘I want to take Sharon to Balmoral first and then I want to get round the Scottish islands. I got off the ferry at Gigha a couple of years ago and I was going up the slip road when who was coming down but Ally McCoist… 

‘He said “what are you doing here?” Never mind me what was on earth was he doing there?…’ 

The peace and solitude of Gigha felt a world away when he stood on a touchline in Paisley watching a fragile, porous Aberdeen team concede two late goals to St Mirren. Brought in to haul the Dons into the top six, the team embarked on a precipitous death slide after defeats to Kilmarnock and St Johnstone.

After the Saints defeat, Pittodrie legend Willie Miller tore into Warnock on Radio Scotland, accusing him of playing Jamie McGrath out of position, having no idea what he was getting into and throwing star striker Bojan Miovski to the wolves with his post match comments.

‘I saw Willie Miller having a go at me, saying I threw the players under a bus,’ he says now, indignantly.

‘That’s a load of b******* that.

‘The players were brilliant and I enjoyed working with the players.

‘They were a great set of lads.

‘But the mistakes they made you can’t fudge or blindfold yourself over. Bloody hell.

‘Ultimately my only disappointment was the goals we conceded.’

During Warnock’s eight games in charge, a fragile group of players shipped 14 goals. Five came in two home games against Motherwell and Hibernian, their only clean sheet a Scottish Cup win over non-league Bonnyrigg Rose.

Under interim boss Peter Leven back to back wins over Motherwell and Ross County have bought some time while the club seek a permanent manager. While fears of a slide towards the relegation play-off place have eased, Warnock has urged the club hierarchy to relax their data-led approach to player recruitment and utilise boots-on-the-ground to find on-field leaders capable of dealing with the slings and arrows of the Scottish Premiership.

‘When the club do their recruitment they will look to do something with that I think.

‘They will look to see if they can bring two or three leaders in I think.

‘They have players who can win games and they will get to mid-table before the end of the season.

‘But if they want to progress then I think they will be looking to get one or two leaders on the pitch. Guys who can give Shinnie a hand, especially at centre back.’

Critical of VAR’s application Scottish football, Warnock refuses to go down the road of so many English observers by criticising the standard of the league.

‘I thought it was alright,’ he concludes.

‘I look back now and I am a Championship manager really. They are slightly different in that respect.

‘But I still think that if I could have had a couple of windows and a year there it was the type of club where I really think we could have challenged. We could have pushed the big two.

‘That was never an option because they were always looking for someone younger at the end of the season. The conversation I had with them just brought it forward a bit.

‘And you know what? I don’t have an issue with that.

‘It’s all good guys at that club. The truth is that I’ve not got a bad word to say about anybody.’