Aberdeen given permission to talk to St Mirren boss Robinson

Aberdeen have made an approach to Scottish Premiership rivals St Mirren for manager Stephen Robinson.

St Mirren have revealed that “Aberdeen have met a contractual clause in Stephen’s contract, so the club has granted them permission to speak to him regarding the vacancy”.

They “hope for a swift resolution to this matter”, with Aberdeen stating they are entering “formal talks” with the 51-year-old Northern Irishman.

Peter Leven has been in caretaker charge since Aberdeen sacked Jimmy Thelin in early January.

Robinson, meanwhile, led St Mirren to their second cup semi-final of the season on Sunday as the Paisley side defeated Partick Thistle having already gone on to lift the League Cup with a victory over league champions Celtic in November.

He led the Buddies to top-six finishes in his previous three seasons, although they currently sit 10th, one place and five points below Aberdeen, just three ahead of Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot.

The news of Aberdeen’s approach comes just over a week after chairman Dave Cormack confirmed that former Mainz, Hertha Berlin and Dinamo Moscow head coach Sandro Schwarz, who recently left New York Red Bulls, was in the city for talks about the vacancy.

However, Cormack stressed that the German was only one of “about four” candidates and that one of them presented “a personal challenge, family-wise, that we have to respect”.

Last month, Eirik Horneland had also emerged as a leading candidate after his departure from French Ligue 2 club Saint-Etienne.

However, the former Brann and Rosenborg head coach was subsequently quoted as saying he would not be taking up another post until at least the end of the season.

Former Northern Ireland midfielder Robinson began his managerial career with his country’s national youth set-up before spells in charge of Oldham Athletic, Motherwell and Morecambe.