Horneland 'intensity' perfect for Aberdeen - Stavrum

Three postponed matches have perhaps taken Aberdeen's lengthening spell without a manager briefly out of the spotlight, but the club's former striker, Arild Stavrum, thinks Eirik Horneland would be "a fantastic fit" for Scottish football should they appoint his fellow Norwegian.

On 1 February the 50-year-old left a Saint-Etienne side sitting fourth in France's second tier and quickly became a leading candidate for the vacancy at Pittodrie.

Prior to his 14 months in France, Horneland enjoyed three successful years in his homeland at Brann, who he led to back-to-back second-place finishes and Norwegian Cup success.

So Stavrum is well placed to assess what kind of manager Aberdeen would be getting should he be handed the reins at a side currently under-performing in seventh place in Scotland's top flight.

Having been a defender with Haugesund, Horneland also first moved into coaching with his local club, leading them to several strong league finishes after a spell with his national under-19 squad.

"He was a huge success in Haugesund and at Brann before he moved to France and what impressed me then was the level of intensity in the play of the team," Stavrum told BBC Scotland.

However, after leading Rosenborg to a third-place finish and Europa League football in 2019, Horneland resigned following a poor start to their 2020 campaign.

"In Norway, he has been fantastic at a couple of clubs and has been not so good at Rosenborg," Stavrum said.

"Rosenborg is kind of a team that clings on to the past and, if any trainer is a bit different than they used to be in the 90s, when they were really good, then I think it is a problem for that coach.

"He had a tough time at Rosenborg, but a lot of people understood that - that it was not an easy job to take and a lot of good managers have struggled in Rosenborg in the last few years, so that didn't harm him too much."

Indeed, Stavrum points out that he went on to greater success with Brann and "is really highly regarded" in his homeland.

Aberdeen have been without a manager since sacking his fellow Scandinavian, the Swede Jimmy Thelin, at the start of January.

Stavrum – who scored 29 goals in his two seasons at Pittodrie from 1999 – suggests his own playing style would not have fitted Horneland's up-and-at-them approach but believes the Norwegian is perfectly suited to British football because of the "intensity" that marked his sides apart from their opponents.

"He would be a fantastic fit," he said. "Brann has always been a difficult club to manage because they have not been getting the results they should, but he was the first one in a long long time to really get Brann up and performing again, so he did a fantastic job there.

"He turned Brann into a team that was really tough to play. They were a hard, pressing team, so you never got a lot of time on the ball.

"If you have strikers that are able to press hard to run a bit, he will be a really good coach for them. So I think it would be a really interesting appointment for Aberdeen."

Stavrum revealed that Horneland's intensity on the touchline is just as eye-catching.

"He was also the kind of coach that was always up and down the sidelines yelling at the players and getting them moving, so I think he was popular among the fans also because he was giving the intensity they wanted to see with a coach," he said.

It did not work out for Horneland with Saint-Etienne, but Stavrum added: "I don't think it is a bad idea to take a manager who has struggled a bit lately.

"He had a bad experience in France, he would like to turn things around and would be really hungry and up for revenge, so I think it would be an interesting and a good appointment for Aberdeen."