Archie Knox reckons Barry Robson is succeeding at Aberdeen because he has adopted a no-nonsense policy like Alex Fergsuon.
Knox coached Dons boss Robson during his early years in the game when he was a kid on the books at Rangers. The youngster was “full of fun” back in the day but soon developed a highly serious approach which led him to Scotland caps and Champions League appearances with Celtic and has now taken him into top-flight management.
Knox, who was assistant to Ferguson at Pittodrie during the club’s greatest-ever triumphs in the early 1980s, has seen the progression and is delighted that a straight-to-the-point attitude towards work and graft are paying dividends. The veteran, who gave Robson his Oleg nickname as he had ginger hair like ex-Ibrox ace Kuznetsov, said: “Barry’s done really well. When he was at Rangers, if you were looking at boys who’d become managers, you probably wouldn’t put him in that category.
“He was a young lad who was full of fun and full of laughter. That kind of stuff. Some people, you identify and say they are serious right from the word go. Barry wasn’t that at that particular age. But he’s come back into football and taken on board all the things he’s learned elsewhere. And added to it.
“From what I hear at Aberdeen, from ex-players such as Neil Simpson and others, he’s been brilliant with all the younger ones.
“I think he just has the same philosophy as Alex did. Never any nonsense. This is the way I want you to play. This is what we’re going to try and do. And you deal with the players you have got. That’s what he’s done particularly well since he came in. There’s a confidence about him that you maybe wouldn’t have thought as a young boy. And 100 per cent, he’s got a no-nonsense side to him now.”
Having taken over for one game in February last year following the dismissal of Stephen Glass, Robson returned to the caretaker role 11 months later after Jim Goodwin’s exit. The 44-year-old engineered seven straight victories and was rewarded with a two-year contract.
Working alongside sidekicks Steve Agnew and Liam Fox, the former Dons midfielder ensured a third-placed finish. Celtic’s victory over Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup Final offered another boost with European football guaranteed in the Granite City next season. Aberdeen and Robson will have a shot at the group stages of the Europa League with a qualifier to come in August.
Even if that two-legged contest is not won, the squad will go into the sections of the Conference League with six games and a cash jackpot banked for the club. Knox is thrilled to see Robson on the right path and has made it clear to him to stick with his principles and keep doing the hard yards.
He said: “It’s simple when you’re speaking to boys you’ve worked with and had through the ranks. All I said to him was there are always pitfalls around the corner, so don’t be bumping your gums about what you’re going to be doing or not going to be doing in the next season or whatever.
“The team has been working hard for him and playing within the capabilities they’ve got, so stick with that. And put the demands on them every day. Like he once got. Training wasn’t for messing about. You were there to do your best. Every session.”
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