 Aitken in September 1982 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Sime Aitken[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-11-24)24 November 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973–1975 | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1990 | Celtic | 484 | (40) |
| 1990–1991 | Newcastle United | 54 | (1) |
| 1991–1992 | St Mirren | 34 | (1) |
| 1992–1995 | Aberdeen | 29 | (2) |
| Total | 601 | (44) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976–1984 | Scotland U21[3] | 16 | (2) |
| 1979–1991 | Scotland | 57 | (1) |
| 1990[4] | SFA (SFL Centenary) | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2006 | Aston Villa (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Sime "Roy"Aitken (born 24 November 1958)[5] is a Scottish formerfootball player andmanager. He made over 480 league appearances forCeltic, and later played forNewcastle United,St Mirren andAberdeen. Aitken also made 57 international appearances forScotland. His playing position was either in midfield or defence.
Aitken had become assistant manager at Aberdeen towards the end of his playing career, and was appointed their manager in February 1995. He led theDons to aScottish League Cup win in1995–96, but was sacked in November 1997. He has since coached several clubs, includingLeeds United andAston Villa.
Born inIrvine,Ayrshire,[5] Aitken grew up inArdrossan. He signed forCeltic as a youngster at 16 and came through their youth ranks. Aitken was nicknamedThe Bear by their supporters due to his large frame and commanding presence. Aitken broke into the Celtic first team as a teenager, first captaining the team in October 1977.[6] Playing as a centre back or defensive midfielder, Aitken made the third-most appearances in the club's history and was particularly noted for his contributions in the club'sdouble-winning 1987–88 season.[7]
Aitken later went on to play forNewcastle United, joining the club for £500,000 in January 1990. He captained the side in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to gain promotion from theSecond Division. Having been signed byJim Smith, he was deemed surplus to requirements when Smith was replaced as manager byOssie Ardiles and returned to Scotland withSt Mirren.[8] He did not remain long at St Mirren, signing forAberdeen for £100,000 to act as player-assistant manager to Willie Miller.[9]
Aitken won 57 caps for theScotland national football team, scoring once.[5] He featured at both the1986 and1990 World Cups, captaining Scotland at the latter tournament and in 27 of his international appearances.
Aitken was appointed manager ofAberdeen in February 1995 after the sacking ofWillie Miller.[10][11] At the time, Aberdeen were struggling to avoid relegation, and Aitken made a bright start by winning 2–0 against Rangers in his first game as manager,[11] but then lost to part-timeStenhousemuir in the Scottish Cup by the same scoreline.[12] Aberdeen finished second bottom of the league, but maintained their top league status by defeatingDunfermline Athletic in a two-legged play-off.[11][13][14]
The following season saw Aitken invest heavily in the transfer market; signing strikerDean Windass for £750,000 and midfielderPaul Bernard for a club record £1 million.[11] Bernard struggled to justify his expensive transfer fee[15] whilst Windass' time at Pittodrie was hampered by his on-field indiscipline.[16] Nevertheless, Aitken led Aberdeen to silverware when they won theScottish League Cup on 26 November 1995, beatingDundee 2–0 in the final.[17]
On being sacked by Aberdeen in November 1997 (after a 5–0 loss toDundee United), Aitken turned his attention to coaching. In February 1998 he was appointed head coach of theMaldives national football team but resigned a month later over the poor facilities available to the team.[18] After obtaining hisUEFA Pro Licence at theScottish Football Association's Largs training centre,[19] Aitken went on to become a coach withLeeds United before rejoining former Leeds coachDavid O'Leary atAston Villa.[20]
On 20 July 2006, he was namedcaretaker manager of Aston Villa after O'Leary's departure the previous evening.[21] Aitken managed Villa to three pre-season victories before being replaced byMartin O'Neill.[22]
In January 2007, he was appointed as one ofAlex McLeish's assistants with theScotland national football team.[23] On 28 November 2007, he followed McLeish, newly appointed as manager ofBirmingham City, to the club as first-team coach alongsideAndy Watson.[24]
In July 2010, Aitken left Birmingham City to join David O'Leary inDubai withAl-Ahli.[25] Afterwards taking up the role as Director of Football at Al-Ahli.
| Scotland national team[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1979 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980 | 3 | 0 |
| 1981 | — | |
| 1982 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 |
| 1986 | 9 | 1 |
| 1987 | 8 | 0 |
| 1988 | 8 | 0 |
| 1989 | 8 | 0 |
| 1990 | 6 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 57 | 1 |
Celtic[26]
Scotland
Aberdeen
Scotland squads | |||||||
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