Can anyone do better at Aberdeen FC?

By Ross McTavish

FORMER Aberdeen FC player Steve Tosh today insisted the blame for Aberdeen FC’s Scottish Cup catastrophes should not rest solely with boss Jimmy Calderwood.

The AFC Supporters Society turned up the heat on the under-pressure Aberdeen FC manager by calling for him to be sacked in a letter to Willie Miller.

Aberdeen FC director of football Miller responded by saying he still has faith in Calderwood.

Queen of the South’s Tosh was at Pittodrie when the last Aberdeen FC manager was dismissed, as Steve Paterson’s reign was brought to an end in 2004.

The midfielder claimed it is wrong for Calderwood to be in the firing line by himself and that the players should take some responsibility for the quarter-final defeat to Dunfermline.

Tosh believes the fans should lay off the club’s manager – asking who could do a better job at Pittodrie other than Calderwood with such limited resources.

He said: “The players should feel a responsibility and it should not be one-way traffic all directed at the manager.

“I’d ask the fans to take a step back.

“With the budget Aberdeen have to attract players, who would do a better job than Jimmy Calderwood? Who would the club replace him with?

“Other clubs pay players on a par with Aberdeen, but buying a house and the cost of living where they are based are cheaper than the Granite City.

“If it’s hard to get players, then it will be hard to attract a top class manager up there.”

Tosh knows all about Aberdeen losing crunch cup matches.

He was at the heart of the Queen of the South team that beat Aberdeen in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

The Dons’ disastrous defeat to Dunfermline brought back memories of that day.

But Tosh reckons there is little more Calderwood could have done against the Pars.

He said: “I watched the Dunfermline game and I don’t think the fans in the stands would have done much different to what Jimmy did.

“He might have put Tommy Wright on earlier.

“But fans have to understand Jimmy is at training every day.

“He picks the team based on what happens during a week, and over five years at Aberdeen he has got more decisions right than wrong.”

As the fans vent their spleens, Tosh is sure Calderwood is the ideal person to make sure it does not affect the players at a crucial time in the season.

He said: “Jimmy Calderwood is a big character with strong shoulders.

“He will keep it away from the players.

“Under Jimmy, Aberdeen have been a mainstay in the top six, which is their remit at the start of every season.”

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