McGhee confirmed as Dons boss

Aberdeen have confirmed that Mark McGhee has been appointed as manager with Scott Leitch, his assistant at Motherwell, his number two.

The pair replace Jimmy Calderwood, Jimmy Nicholl and Sandy Clark, who left Pittodrie last month.

McGhee was part of the Dons side which won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Gothenburg.

McGhee explained why he felt it was the right time to leave Fir Park.

"It was a difficult decision but I feel it was the right decision," he said.

"Things have moved on a little bit.

"Motherwell had lost two or three players and we looked like losing two or three more due to the circumstances in the Scottish game so it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain the performance and levels that we set over the last couple of years at Motherwell.

"I felt that the opportunity to go to Aberdeen, to a more stable environment would allow me to make more of a challenge over the next few year than it might be possible with Motherwell.

"It is a shame, I loved my time there."