Neil Warnock lands in Aberdeen: Going with his gut, 'let's have a bit of fun', meeting cooks and hunger for Scottish Cup

After years of flirting with Scottish football, 75-year-old Yorkshireman makes his bow at Ibrox on Tuesday as he looks to raise Dons’ spirits

We better get used to the Yorkshire tones of Neil Warnock. After flirting with Scottish football for many years, he is finally here, the colourful and quotable 75-year-old who has been lured out of retirement on more than one occasion. Aberdeen become his 17th club in a 44-year managerial career, from Gainsborough Trinity to Pittodrie, via all manner of English teams. Warnock has penned a contract until the end of the season, answering an SOS call from chairman Dave Cormack to hold the fort as the Dons’ hierarchy work out a longer-term strategy.

This is not about money for Warnock. He could be earning more in England, given his penchant for elevating flailing teams to safety. His last job at Huddersfield was a Houdini act, guiding the Terriers away from the drop in the Championship last season from a seemingly helpless position. Aberdeen are not facing the same perils just yet but they need a lift, sitting eighth in the Premiership and 20 points behind third-placed Hearts. He wants to put smiles back on the Dons fans’ faces and has promised to have fun. Strap yourselves in.

“I've always wanted to manage up here,” said Warnock in his broadcast press conference. “I've got a place in Dunoon, my club is Greenock Morton, I've got bricks with the family's name on it. When you get my age, you think twice, I've had that many retirements. When I spoke to Dave Cormack and Alan [Burrows, chief executive], it just seemed the right thing to do. It gives them a little bit of time to look for the right one to take the club forward as manager and as I said to them, let's have a bit of fun between now and the end of the season. I like to put a smile on people's faces.

New Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock oversees his first training session at Cormack Park.

This is not the first time Warnock and Aberdeen have met – although more accurately, the Dons chose not to have rendez-vous. Warnock went for the Pittodrie top job 20 years ago and was miffed not to even get a response. “I applied for the job once, many years ago, and I never even got a reply, which I felt let down by,” he explained. “I used that a little bit to motivate myself – ‘I'll show them what I'm missing’ – and I managed to get promotion that year.”

The snub did not dissuade him. Hearts also turned him down – “they went for a Latvian instead” – but the desire to work in Scotland has continued to burn bright. “It's a big club and the kind of fans that they've got, I can relate to that,” explained Warnock. “If I say hostile, I don't mean that in a nasty way, it's lovely to get fans behind the team and supporting the team. A one-club city is a really good challenge.

“I know it's a long way [from home]. Sharon, my wife, said: ‘Aberdeen!’ It's not for the money, I've had some right good offers in the past six weeks. It's just I'd like