Cooper, Simpson get Aberdeen caretaker role

Neil Cooper and Neil Simpson have been placed in temporary charge of Aberdeen following the sacking of manager Mark McGhee.

Youth coaches Cooper and Simpson were announced as joint caretakers by director of football Willie Miller on Thursday.

The pair will attempt to guide the team to a much-needed win away to Hearts on Saturday.

McGhee was removed, along with assistants Colin Meldrum and Scott Leitch, after Aberdeen lost six matches in a row to slide to the foot of the Scottish Premier League table.

“I have spoken to Neil Cooper and Neil Simpson. Neil with Simmy assisting him will take the first team,” Miller said.

“Paul Hartley is also there as a senior player in the dressing room and captain and he will assist them. That is what we have put in place in the short term.”

“The two Neils are very committed players in the past and very committed members of the staff and just want to do the best for the club.”

Miller – a title-winning defender with Aberdeen under Alex Ferguson – will form part of the committee, along with chairman Stewart Milne and chief executive Duncan Fraser, that will decide McGhee’s long term replacement.

“We don’t want to put a time on it, but we’d like to get it done as soon as possible. We have to go through the procedure of building up a shortlist of potential candidates and we’ve set up a little sub-committee to do that,” Miller said.

“We’re looking for applicants, building up a list of potential candidates ourselves and we’ll take that process through as quickly as we possibly can.”

Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan – who left English Championship club Middlesbrough by mutual consent in October – has already been touted as a potential replacement for McGhee.