Aberdeen have been hitting headlines this week following the sacking of Stephen Robinson after just eight months in charge - an appointment many supporters felt was doomed from the start.

There has been plenty of debate around whether the Pittodrie side should repeate what they did with Jimmy Thelin and go down the foreign route again, or stick with a UK-based coach.

Graeme McGarry and Blair Meikle give their answers to today’s three Burning Questions.

A big story this week has been the Aberdeen manager situation. Why do you think it did not work out for Stephen Robinson?

Graeme McGarry: Unmistakably, there was a sizable section of the Aberdeen support who didn’t want Stephen Robinson as the manager of the club in the first place, so he was never going to be given much leeway. Undeniably though, also, it is ultimately poor recruitment in the summer that has sunk him.

He went for quantity over quality in the transfer window, and it seems the club have been briefing that many of these signings were his, rather than those who had been identified by their recruitment department. And very few of them have shown they can improve this Aberdeen side.

Robinson had lots of injuries to deal with too, particularly defensively, but in truth, he never really nailed down a particular style of play, and - surprisingly given his previous record in Scotland at Motherwell and St Mirren - he was unable to make the Dons a hard side to beat at the very least.

Quite the opposite, in fact. While he hadn’t been losing games by huge margins prior to the weekend, he had been losing far too many, and a 4-0 home defeat to the side sitting bottom of the division at that time – even if it is a club the size of Hibs – was never going to be survivable.

It was an uneasy marriage from the off, and it is no surprise to now see the inevitable parting of the ways.

Blair Meikle: Like many of the Aberdeen fans, I did not think it was a good appointment from the off. I didn't see it as a good fit.

We've seen before managers of that ilk who perform well at a club the size of St Mirren or Motherwell then struggling at a bigger club. Also, Barry Robson is an example of a defensive-minded manager not all that fussed about his team having the ball failing at Aberdeen. That is because, especially at home, Aberdeen are always going to be expected to dominate games and the onus is on them to take the game to the opposition.

Recruitment has been a big part of it, too, and there has been some suggestion Robinson himself is apportioning a large part of the blame on the incoming transfers, while others are breifing that most of the signings were in fact his. Either way, it hasn't worked and the squad that has been assembled is a real mishmash.

Even with the domestic players brought in - I admit to alarm bells going off in my head when Toyosi Olusanya, Lewis Mayo and Brad Lyons were three of the early signings. Good, solid Premiership players but nothing more. Chris Cadden was another baffling one, Hibs' third choice right-back and not someone I would have pictured as a Robinson type.

Where do Aberdeen go next? There has been some suggestion they will flip-flop again and go down the foreign route – is that wise?

Graeme McGarry: Since Dave Cormack came to the club, there has been no sign that Aberdeen have an identikit of the manager they wish to lead the club or the style they wish to play in. They have swung wildly from the days of young, progressive coaches like Stephen Glass and Jimmy Thelin to more defensively minded, counter-attacking managers like Barry Robson and Stephen Robinson, to the frankly bonkers in Neil Warnock. So, it would be no surprise to see another foreign manager coming in now.

There are more clues as to why that might be the case though rather than it simply being another Aberdeen about-turn. With sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and new chief executive Adrian Bevington being tasked with leading up the search, the simple fact of where most of their contacts are based would lead you to believe the next manager of the Dons will either come from down south or even further afield.

Whether that is a wise move or not will depend on the candidate identified rather than their nationality. As Jens Berthel Askou showed last season at Motherwell, you don’t need an in-depth knowledge of Scottish football to succeed here, and I think the Aberdeen fans would be excited by the arrival of an exotic name, particularly if they came with the intent of implementing a clear identity. Something Aberdeen are crying out for.

Blair Meikle: Teams, especially Aberdeen, seem to do this quite often - if a British manager doesn't work out, they go foreign next and vice-versa.

It seems a strange, and very scattergun, way to approach it. If a manager has failed, it is because of the individual and not where he hails from.

They should simply weigh up all the options and go with the best one. If there are domestic candidates up to the job, which I think there are, they should be afforded the chance but equally if the standout candidate comes from abroad then they should be pursued. Aberdeen should not be put off by how Jimmy Thelin ended in that regard.

Adrian Bevington has contacts all over so it would seem likely he will do the smart thing and consider recruiting from both the UK and from other shores.

Which domestic options do you think should be in the frame if Aberdeen do consider anything closer to home?

Graeme McGarry: The obvious domestic choice would be John McGlynn, who is working wonders once again this season at Falkirk. There is a feeling though that with his 65th birthday coming up next month, upping sticks and heading north may not appeal, and he is quite happy where he is at the helm of a club on the up, and where he is worshipped.

There are some other interesting candidates in the Premiership, with Simo Valakari and Steven Pressley doing good jobs at St Johnstone and Dundee respectively. Even in the Championship, Mark Wilson is doing a fine job at Partick Thistle, while Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon would be a great candidate based on his CV alone, though he may be an even more unpopular arrival in the Granite City than Robinson was.

The noises from the northeast seem to be suggesting though that the next Aberdeen manager will not be drawn from within these borders.

Blair Meikle: If it were me making the decision, I would go for John McGlynn if he wants it. It was a mistake not to consider him before and it is a mistake that should not be repeated.

He continues to work wonders with Falkirk despite his squad being decimated by injuries and getting off to a slow start. They now sit third! He plays a progressive, attractive style but his team can also mix it up and they work very, very hard too. Quite simply, they look brilliantly coached and have had results to back it up over several seasons.

Simo Valakari would not be a bad shout either. Similarly, his St Johnstone side play attractive football but also back it up with the other side of the game and he has them fighting for the top six following promotion from the Championship.

Steven Pressley would be another interesting option after his performance at Dundee.