Motherwell fans were comforted by the clear sentiments expressed by Craig Brown in the BBC interview on Wednesday. There was no doubt in our minds that the approach from Aberdeen had been politely declined. The resurrection of interest from Pittodrie took everyone by surprise and it seems that some serious arm twisting has given Aberdeen the man they want.
There will be frustration and disappointment at the turnaround performed by Brown in the last 24 hours. We gave him a chance to renew his involvement in management almost a year ago following the departure of Jim Gannon. His success in saving our season in 09/10 earned him lots of praise and it was clear that there was an understanding that he was going to stay awhile.
His relationship with the board, the players, staff and fans has been excellent. He had committed to attend a supporters’ Trust event next week. Yesterday he suggested that he could not leave the fine players who give their all for him and yet, he’s off.
We can wring our hands, curse our luck and wonder at the fickle nature of football management but it will not change the fact that we are now looking for a manager for the third time in 18 months.
Quotes from Craig Brown
8 December 2010 "We're happy here working with Motherwell. There's a lot happening at Motherwell and we're up for that challenge"
14 August 2010 "For two years [2006 to 2007] I was on the training ground every day at Derby under Billy Davies but my advanced years did have me wondering whether there would be another full-time manager's post for me"
10 May 2010 "Archie and I are working without contracts but we're grateful to Motherwell for giving us the opportunity to come back here"