Barry Robson wants Aberdeen to get a result against Livingston to help give chairman Dave Cormack a boost on the road back to recovery.
The Dons chairman is set for open-heart surgery tomorrow and will hand over the day-to-day running of the club to chief executive officer Alan Burrows, who takes up his position on Monday. Robson knows a winning Aberdeen team, climbing the table would be the ideal scenario for Cormack's rehabilitation.
The interim manager said: “He’s an Aberdeen fan and all he wants is what is best for the club. That’s clear for everyone to see. It’s not a great time for him at the minute. Obviously he has a health issue which is a private thing for him and his family. Everyone at the club wishes him well as he looks to get back to full health.
“Our job here is to keep running the club and keep moving us forward to let him focus on his recovery from what is a big operation. He has run a business with 800 people for years so I’m not sure it’s the club which has affected him.
"All of us need to get a health check at a certain age. I need to get one.
“We’re just getting on with winning games. That’s the most important thing we can do.”
Football might be a vanity project and big business to others but Robson is well aware that Cormack has taken charge and invested heavily because of love and affection for his hometown club. He said: “I don’t think Dave came in just to put money in to run a club.
"He’s supported the club for years as Stewart Milne has. They’ve driven to games all over the country for years because they are football fans.
If you can get someone at your club who is a football fan then that’s great. I don’t know if the guys at clubs like Manchester City are fans or investors but I know the guys we have had here are fans who want the best for Aberdeen.”
Dons released a statement to confirm their managerial search would resume when Burrows starts. Robson’s hat is very much in the ring as a contender but he will sit down with his new boss to see where the land lies next week.
He said: “The statement was clear. We will wait until Alan Burrows comes in on Monday and I am sure we will sit down and have a conversation but, at the minute, I have not spoken to the board.
"My focus has been on the players and the training pitch and dealing with the staff we have. I’m enjoying it, hopefully we can get a good result.
"That is where we are at. We take Livingston and then I’m sure we will have a conversation and see where we are.”
The former Scotland cap knows he has to do his best as long as he is in charge. Saturday will be his fourth game in charge but he knows that football management is very week-to-week.
He said: “Football is always short term, as a player you are looking over your shoulder for a player to come in to take your place. If he takes your place you can end up away in the transfer window.
“Football people know it can be short term. That’s the reality we’re in. If you look at all the managers and coaches, ook at Neil Critchley at QPR who lasted 12 games.
"That’s where we’re at. 12 games. What can you build in 12 games?
“We all know it is short term. We’ve been in this game a long time and we all know you have to maximise what time you have got.
"My key idea of training is trying to accelerate the players’ minds by showing them back things we did in training that day. Everything has to be accelerated to try to be a success on the pitch, that’s why football is short term.”
