Background
Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, he grew up in Ardrossan.
sports coach association football player
Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, he grew up in Ardrossan.
Foreign others similarly named, see the Robert Aitken navigation page His position as a player was defence. He signed for Celtic as a youngster. At Celtic, he was nicknamed "The Bear" by the supporters due to his large frame and commanding presence.
He later went on to play for Newcastle United, Street Mirren and Aberdeen.
Aitken was appointed manager of Aberdeen in February 1995 after the sacking of Willie Miller. 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.
Aberdeen finished second bottom of the league, but maintained their top league status by defeating Dunfermline Athletic in a two-legged play-official The following season saw Aitken invest heavily in the transfer market.
Signing striker Dean Windass for £750,000 and midfielder Paul Bernard for a club record £1 million.
Bernard struggled to justify his expensive transfer fee, whilst Windass" time at Pittodrie was hampered by his on-field indiscipline. On being sacked by Aberdeen in 1997, Aitken turned his attention to coaching. After obtaining his Union of European Football Associations Pro Licence at the Scottish Football Association"s Largs training centre, Aitken went on to become a coach with Leeds United before rejoining former Leeds coach David O"Leary at Aston Villa.
On 20 July 2006, he was named caretaker manager of Aston Villa after O"Leary"s departure the previous evening.
Aitken managed Villa to three pre-season victories before being replaced by Martin O"Neill. In January 2007, he was appointed as one of Alex McLeish"s assistants with the Scotland national football team
On 28 November 2007, he followed McLeish, newly appointed as manager of Birmingham City, to the club as first-team coach alongside Andy Watson. In July 2010, Aitken left Birmingham City to join David O"Leary in Dubai with First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Ahli.
He left First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Ahli in May 2011.
Individual.