Under Pressure By Donald C Stewart

Date: 18th September 2026

Under Pressure

By Donald C Stewart

In 1981, when Queen and David Bowie put together Under Pressure and it arrived on the Hot Space album, history does not record if in the background there was a game playing where Celtic were on their way to becoming the Premier Division champions or Rangers winning the Scottish Cup or Dundee United hoovering up the League Cup as impetus and inspiration for their song.

However, last weekend, the pressure that has been meted out to the managers of Hibs, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock are one of the reasons why when it comes to putting young players on the bench or indeed on the park that there may be some resistance from a Robinson, a Gray or a McCann.

Of course, we now know that with Hib’s emphatic first half win against Ross County and the battling quarter final between Kilmarnock and Aberdeen that those managers survived at least till the Monday morning. Hib’s David Gray would not see Friday…

Prior to going into their games, the stresses and pressures placed upon those three managers were palpable to the point at which many speculated that come Monday morning at least one of them was going to be looking at a P45.

For Kilmarnock, who were ironically in 1981 relegated from the Premier Division ending up underneath Greenock Morton and Airdrieonians, Neil McCann with the leakiest defence in the Premiership so far this season, can look on with some pride they only shipped one goal in open play. They could even be forgiven for crowing they won, Hibs lost in their midweek league encounter though it cost David Gray his job. Whilst a touch spiky in defence of his defence, McCann had, at the tail end of last season made Killie look a decent bet for season 2026/27. People can speculate as to whether or not going from plastic to grass has made a terrible difference to them, or that personnel changes, injuries, new systems etc. have made a difference but ultimately opinions are still to be proven able to win games of football… Their midweek win against Hibs gives him some respite, but McCann is looking at the depth of despair and the possibility of relegation. Would that cup run have taken him anywhere, given that the first major win he had this season was against local rivals, Championship Ayr United, where they had to wait until the tail end before they managed to get the one goal that would take them over and into the quarterfinals.

As for Stephen Robinson at Aberdeen, he may not have been the first choice to replace Jimmy Thalin when he left Pittodrie, but Robinson’s run to the League Cup final last year, which included beating Celtic before his St Mirren lifted the Cup, is oft quoted as one of the reasons why he got the job at the Dons. Upon closer inspection, of course, his run in the last 16 games for St Mirren was nowhere near sparkling, as I think he won 2 out of 16. He is a relatively young coach, and he had a real good run at Motherwell, replicated that at St Mirren and was one in the eyes of many a board for their hot seat. Now the Aberdeen poison chalice of trying to emulate and recreate the years of a Ferguson or a Smith look as though they may be beyond the golden touch of Stephen Robinson. Or will the cup visit to Hampden make a difference? Does their demolition of Motherwell during the week make that big a difference?

Whilst Robinson and McCann did not play on the hallowed turf of their current teams, David Gray has no such indistinction. A player who was a Hibernian legend before he donned the tracksuit for the dugout, he faced a tough time. During the course of last year, when he became the interim manager and then confirmed as the full-time manager, there were doubts on the message boards and on the terraces in Easter Road that this was an appointment which was driven by sentiment more than the belief that Gray could pull something out of the bag. Towards the end of last season Gray did manage to get his team out of trouble, even got them into Europe but this season Easter Road problems have returned.

In such a cauldron and an expectation, Gray followed Glen Whelan who lost his job at Livingston. Livingston’s assault on the Championship has not gone to plan, and their board really want to see themselves back in the Premiership. David Martindale is back in the dugout, so can we put our faith in managers and clubs actually putting young players on the bench or in the team because the level of scrutiny and pressure on these managers is unreal.

So, what’s the solution?

For me it’s dead easy you simply increase the size of the league thus reducing the melting pot and cauldron atmosphere of every boardroom and dugout up and down the country who are sitting 12th 11th 10th or 9th in any of our leagues. And I am open to that expansion being for any of the leagues. That would secure some opportunities for young players, but let’s see if that ever sees the light of day.

Certainly, if the actions of the SFA stopping us from even entering the discussions forums is anything to go by, it’s unlikely.

 

Image : Homes of Football

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Posted in: Fan's Blog, Latest News

Tags: Aberdeen, Hibs, Kilmarnock, Scottish football, SPFL