By Liam McLeod

Calderwood left Aberdeen 'by mutual consent' according to the club

Jimmy Calderwood arrived - and left - Aberdeen on a high of European qualification.

But it was domestic cup disappointments that proved to be his Achilles heel at Pittodrie and led to him being relieved of his duties on Sunday.

Calderwood and trusted lieutenant Jimmy Nicholl, the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland full-back, took charge at a time when Aberdeen had been toiling at the foot of the Scottish Premier League table under previous manager Steve Paterson.

Former Dons boss and legendary captain Willie Miller's return to the club as director of football had signalled a wind of change in the summer of 2004.

Shortly after, Paterson was sacked as the Dons finished the season eleventh, just ahead of relegated Partick Thistle.

Miller recruited Calderwood, who had just led Dunfermline Athletic to the Scottish Cup final and in doing so, although the Pars lost 3-1 to a Henrik Larsson-inspired Celtic, ended the Fife club's 34-year wait for a return to European competition.

The new Dons boss was immediately involved in the transfer market, bringing in former Hearts midfielder Scott Severin and former Leeds and Coventry striker Noel Whelan as he rebuilt the squad.

And Calderwood's first season ended with the club improving to a fourth-place finish - pipped by Hibernian to the only European place available via a league finish.

But it also provided the first of several painful Scottish Cup defeats - a 4-1 reverse to north east rivals Dundee United at Tannadice.

The following season was Calderwood's most disappointing league-wise as Aberdeen finished sixth, with two more early cup exits.

But, a year on, the Dons qualified for European football for the first time in five years as they defeated Rangers to seal third place on the last day of the season.

That, however, was a minimum requirement in the eyes of most Dons fans as it followed an August League Cup defeat by amateurs Queen's Park and a 4-1 Scottish Cup replay hammering by Hibs.

Season 07/08 was the proverbial rollercoaster campaign, which began without inspirational captain Russell Anderson, who had been sold to Sunderland.

Calderwood led the Dons into the group stages of the Uefa Cup

The club were back in Europe, though, and came through the first round proper against the odds in Ukraine.

After a goal-less home leg with Dnipro, a 1-1 draw took the Dons into the group stages, where they would meet Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid and FC Copenhagen.

Though they would win just one of those matches - a spectacular 4-0 rout of the Danish champions at Pittodrie - they made the last 32, where they battled to a thrilling 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich before going down 5-1 in the return leg in Germany.

Motherwell secured third place in the league ahead of the Dons, but it was in the domestic cups again where Calderwood would toil, his side losing four goals in both semi-finals.

Dundee United put them to the sword 4-1 in the League Cup before they suffered what many viewed as a humiliating 4-3 defeat by First Division side Queen of the South on their first trip to Hampden in eight years.

The latter was a result from which Calderwood - who had cut his managerial teeth in the Netherlands - would not recover in the eyes of the supporters.

In what was to be Calderwood's final season at Pittodrie, hopes of silverware were ended by Kilmarnock early in the League Cup and on penalty kicks by First Division Dunfermline after a Pittodrie replay in the Scottish Cup quarter finals.

With a realistic route to the final for a second successive season blocked by lower league opponents, that was the final straw for many fans, with the AFC Trust writing an open letter to Miller asking for Calderwood to be removed from the post.

The manager's five-year tenure at Pittodrie ended on a high note as the club qualified for Europe on goal difference on the last day of the season thanks to a 2-1 win over Hibs with Dundee United losing 3-0 to eventual champions Rangers.

Before kick-off, the Glasgow-born manager stressed that he loved the club and that he was still under contract.

But, after a visibly emotional Calderwood left Pittodrie, chairman Stewart Milne revealed the last-day heroics were never going to save the manager his job as the decision had been taken days before.

Dividing opinion along the way, there is no doubt that the two Jimmys gave Aberdeen their respect back as far as the league was concerned, but too many cup disappointments scarred their Pittodrie legacy in the eyes of the board and support.

And the manager who has become famed for the orange glow of his constant tan was left to head for the post-season sunshine of Majorca with Nicholl and coach Sandy Clark contemplating their next move in the management merry-go-round.

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