ABERDEEN have sacked manager Jim Goodwin after Saturday's 6-0 drubbing at Hibs, a result that left Dons chairman Dave Cormack feeling 'humiliated'.
The defeat comes just days after the Premiership side's shock 1-0 loss to sixth-tier Darvel in the Scottish Cup, a result that prompted the Dons board to release a statement demanding an 'immediate response'.
However, it failed to materialise as a Josh Campbell hat-trick plus goals from Elie Youan, Kevin Nisbet and Will Fish inflicted Aberdeen's heaviest defeat since a 9-0 loss at Celtic in November 2010.
Waterford native Goodwin departs the Dons just under a year after arriving, with the club sitting seventh in the table with one win in their last eight league games.
During that time, they have also exited both domestic cups, the defeat to Darvel coming a week after an extra-time loss to Rangers in the League Cup.
'Utterly abysmal'
In a statement after the game, Cormack described Goodwin as an 'honourable man' but said he acted following a run of 'unacceptable' results.
"I met with Jim at the end of the game. Jim is a thoroughly decent guy," said Cormack.
"He came up, gave me a hug and said, 'It isn't good enough'.
"He has given it everything he can give it, but the simple facts are that the results since coming back from the World Cup break have been wholly unacceptable and the away form is utterly abysmal.
Aberdeen fans display a banner aimed at Goodwin during the game at Hibs (Image: Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)"I feel for Jim and his family today, and for Lee Sharp, his assistant. Two good guys have lost their jobs.
"Jim is a very, very honourable and decent man, honest and trustworthy so I feel for him, but this is a decision that Jim and I both immediately decided that we needed to make after the game."
Apologising to his fellow fans — 1,700 of whom had travelled to Easter Road for the game — Cormack said he took responsibility for the current situation.
"I'm 64 now. I first went to Pittodrie when I was six years old and fell in love with the club," he said.
Goodwin during Monday's shock Scottish Cup loss to sixth-tier Darvel (Image: Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images)"I love our home city, but I'm chairman of the club and I take responsibility when things go this way and you have to part company with a manager.
"When you run a business, whether it's a football club or the software companies that I've run, it's about having a strategy and a vision.
"It's down to having the right people in place at the right time that are able to execute that."
He added: "I apologise to our fans. I can only promise them that I'm determined to put things right."
Early-season form deserts Dons
Former Stockport. Scunthorpe, Huddersfield and St Mirren defender Goodwin began his managerial career at Alloa Athletic in October 2016, leading them to promotion to the Scottish Championship via the play-offs in his second season.
After keeping the Wasps up, he took over at St Mirren at the start of the 2019/20 season, before joining the Dons in February 2022 with the club seventh in the table and out of both domestic cups.
However, the one-time Ireland international won just two of the club's remaining 12 matches as the Dons finished in 10th place.
Goodwin in action for St Mirren — where he played for five-and-a-hall years — against James Forrest of Celtic in February 2014 (Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)This season started positively with Aberdeen topping their League Cup group, going on to reach the semi-finals, while eight wins in their first 15 league games saw them sitting third in the table.
However, they have won just one of their 10 games since the World Cup break, a 2-0 league win over fellow strugglers St Johnstone.
Next up for Aberdeen as they look to get their season back on track are back-to-back home games against St Mirren and Motherwell, who are both also struggling for league wins recently.
The Buddies have won two of their last 11 league outings, while Motherwell have just one win in 13 in the Premiership.
See More: Aberdeen, Jim Goodwin, Scottish Football
