Neil Warnock tells Aberdeen FC why Jimmy Thelin delay 'defeats the purpose' of his Pittodrie exit
Neil Warnock has reiterated why he left Aberdeen and admits he was shocked to see the club take so long in appointing Jimmy Thelin.
Just days after Barry Robson's dismissal at the end of January, the 75-year-old agreed to take on the reins at Pittodrie for the remainder of the season while chairman Dave Cormack and chief executive Alan Burrows worked away in the background to try and find a permanent appointment ahead of the new season.
However, a run of just two wins in eight matches - none of which came in the Premiership - saw the former Queen's Park Rangers and Middlesbrough boss announce his shock resignation just minutes after guiding the Dons to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup with a 3-1 win against Kilmarnock. Warnock's exit has seen first team coach Peter Leven step up to the hot seat for the rest of the season, with the club finally getting a deal over the line that will see Elfsborg manager Thelin take control on June 3.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Warnock spoke of his surprise at the timescale of Thelin's arrival and says he was under the impression that an appointment was imminent.He said: "I always thought Aberdeen was a top club, and although I was only there five weeks, nothing has changed my mind.
"I got them to the semi final of the cup but we never won a league game. We lost four and drew three and we should have won every one of those four games. Mistakes cost us dearly.
"I left because I thought they needed to get someone in and look at the squad for five or six weeks because it needs a major overhaul. I thought that's what they were going to do but they didn't do that in the end and just left it.
"They have appointed somebody now but he's not coming into the summer, so I thought that defeated the object of it really. But it's a nice club with nice people."