Craig Levein believes John McGlynn ‘ticks every box’ to manage a bigger club than Falkirk — as Aberdeen begin the search for Stephen Robinson’s successor.

The Northern Irishman was sacked last night after eight months in charge, with the Dons’ 4-0 home loss to Hibs on Saturday proving to be the last straw.

With the Pittodrie side now sitting second bottom of the Premiership, chairman Dave Cormack, sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and newly-appointed chief executive Adrian Bevington will soon begin the process of trying to identify the man they believe can take the team forward.

And Levein, a former Hearts colleague of McGlynn’s, believes the veteran’s record of taking the Bairns from League One to third place in the top flight should speak for itself.

'John has passed every test that’s been put in front of him and I don’t know what he needs to do,’ said Levein.

‘Falkirk supporters, of course, won’t like me saying that, but I’ve worked with the guy. He’s got integrity, knowledge, he delves into the minutiae when he’s doing his team talks and makes sure everybody knows what’s expected.

‘I’m biased, I like the guy, but I think he’s done a wonderful job. He’s done all the work that he needs to do in my eyes to get an opportunity.’

McGlynn worked at Hearts as a coach under Jim Jefferies and went on to manage the Gorgie club twice — once as an interim.

Prior to taking charge of Falkirk in 2022, he had two spells at Raith Rovers, a stint at Livingston and a scouting role at Celtic under Brendan Rodgers.

Despite completely turning the Bairns’ fortunes around, Levein believes that there remains a strange reluctance in some quarters to recognise the 64-year-old as one of the shrewdest managers in the country.

‘I don’t know what it is, looking at what he’s done, his whole body of work,’ shrugged Levein.

‘When I went to Hearts at the tail end of my career, I was helping John do some training with the youngsters. Even then, you could tell immediately that he knows what he’s talking about.

‘He spent a fair bit of time with Brendan at Celtic. After that, I think he adopted Brendan’s style of football with some changes and altered two or three bits.

‘Essentially, he went to Celtic, watched and learned everything on top of the knowledge he already had. His team at Raith started to play in the same way as Celtic did. Then he’s continued that when he’s gone to Falkirk.

‘I was promoting him for the Scotland job when it came around. If you look at his record, it’s pretty impressive.

‘I just think he is undervalued, maybe not by the supporters that have had him as their manager, but certainly in a wider sense in Scotland. He has done a brilliant job so far.

‘I’ll come back to the fact I’m biased. I like the guy. I like what he does at football clubs. If I’m a chairman, all day long I’d be looking for somebody like him.

‘He’s meticulous in his work and everything’s done properly. He stays within the bandwidth of emotions.

‘He doesn’t get overly emotional during matches and he stays in his area, which I think is good for him and good for his players.

‘You don’t often see him throwing stuff about in the dugout or anything like that. He’s a top manager who has improved enormously in the last five or six years.’

Robinson’s departure was confirmed yesterday in a statement.

Despite winning the League Cup with St Mirren a year ago and guiding the Buddies to three straight top-six finishes, he never enjoyed a consistent run of results at Pittodrie.

‘Following a board meeting, Aberdeen Football Club has today taken the decision to part company with head coach Stephen Robinson,’ the statement read.

‘Stephen leaves the club alongside assistant head coach Brian Kerr and first team coach Stephen Craigan. We thank them for their efforts during their time at Pittodrie and wish them every success for the future.

‘Preparatory work to support the appointment of a new manager has been undertaken, and the recruitment process is ongoing. The focus will be on identifying the right candidate to lead the club forward and deliver the progress expected across all areas of the football operation.

‘Stuart Duff will assume interim charge of first team training while the club continues its search for a new head coach.’