Former Celtic cult hero Barry Robson might be a rookie manager but his tactical nous has sparked an Aberdeen revival that now looks likely to end in European football.

It has also earned extremely high praise from current Hoops defender Liam Scales, who is on loan at Pittodrie for the season.

Scales was a favourite of Robson's predecessor Jim Goodwin before his sacking at the end of January and has continued to feature regularly under the ex-Dundee United and Inverness midfielder.

Robson, who notably drove Celtic to an emotional title with his performances over the final seven matches of the 2007-08 season, took over the reins when Goodwin was sacked following a run of one win in 10, including an embarrassing Scottish Cup exit to sixth-tier Darvel.

The Dons sat in seventh place at that stage but are now in the lofty heights of third with Robson having masterminded seven wins from nine games in charge.

Celtic Way:

With European qualification now seemingly close, Scales has praised the former Hoops midfielder for his impact.

“When Barry came in the St Mirren game didn’t go for us [they lost 3-1] but then it all clicked against Motherwell [a 3-1 win]," he said.

“We completely dominated and we thought if we played like that every week then we knew we would have a good chance of getting points and climbing up the table.

“It is different – the systems, the manager and the players. It is hard to put our finger on it but we are working harder and running more right across the pitch. The wing-backs and the back three will take credit for the clean sheets because that is our job but I think it comes from all over the pitch.

“It is a chain reaction from the strikers – Duk, Bojan (Miovski) and Marley (Watkins) when he gets on. They press high and the midfielders cover all over the place. The distances (Graeme) Shinnie and (Ylber) Ramadani cover are amazing.

“Due to that higher intensity we are not defending as much as we used to. We look tighter and confidence plays a big part in that.”

Celtic Way:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features every day directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!