BARRY ROBSON may not yet have an extensive managerial CV, but as Aberdeen fans are finding out – much to their pleasure – he gives a heck of a job interview.

If the seven consecutive wins he has now racked up, culminating in the stunning victory over Rangers that had Pittodrie rocking on Sunday, isn’t enough proof that he is cut out to take on the gig on a permanent basis, then Gordon Strachan is at a loss to fathom what would be.

Strachan also points out that Robson’s lack of frontline exposure to this point in his coaching career is offset by the years of dedication he has poured into sharpening up his knowledge and honing his craft behind the scenes, showing the same application to becoming the best coach he can be as he did to making the most of his talents as a player.

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Strachan signed Robson while manager of Celtic and also took him to Middlesbrough, appreciating in him the drive that allowed him to put rejection as a youngster at Rangers behind him and carve out a career at the top level that eluded many other more naturally gifted players.

Taking into account the man he knows, the player he was and the coach he has become, it is no surprise then that the Aberdeen legend thinks he has more than earned his chance to prowl the Pittodrie dugout on a more permanent basis.

“Absolutely,” Strachan said.

“It’s not up to me to tell Aberdeen what to do, but it must be one of the best interviews I’ve ever seen in my life.

“There are too many people going on about projects now or relying on baffling presentations. Well, Barry has shown his credentials, they are right there in front of your eyes.

“It’s a wonderful start for him, and everyone who has worked with Barry – whether that be players who have played alongside him or as a manager like myself – we are all delighted to see this.

“He is one of these guys who has had knockbacks in his life, he was knocked back at Rangers as a kid and he had to work hard to come back from that.

“Barry is a great story of deciding your own future in life. Where he has got to now is through sheer hard work.

“The game itself didn’t come easy to him. There have been a lot more gifted people than Barry who have fallen by the wayside because they didn’t have the drive that Barry has got.

“He also has a smashing sense of humour, he can laugh at himself, which is very important if you are going to be a manager. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, but he takes what he does very seriously.

“Over the years I’ve spoken to him many times about what he’s been doing, and everybody says he is intense, he wants to get on and he has got this drive, and I think the Aberdeen players are feeling that just now.”

Robson’s previous role working with the Aberdeen youth teams may well in fact prove to be a huge asset in Strachan’s view, citing coaches who have succeeded at the top of the game after similar groundings in support of his theory.

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And he has been impressed by his willingness to surround himself with more experienced heads to lean on when more difficult times arise, as he is sure they will.

“He’s done a lot of work, he has put the hours in, put the groundwork in,” he said.

“He’s worked with young players, and some of the best coaches in football started off that way. You look at Brendan Rodgers, Jose Mourinho. All these coaches that use that time to play systems, play against systems and find out what works for them.

“You never know when your break comes, but you prepare for that break, and Barry has obviously done that. He has put the hard work in and he’s getting the rewards.

“At the moment, it’s going great. But there will be rough times as well and that is when he will be tested.

“Hopefully there aren’t too many of them round the corner, and hopefully life is good to him, but every manager comes to that point when they face a situation that isn’t in the coaching manual.

“But he’s got a lot of people round about him that he can lean on if he needs to when such times arise.

“He has Steve Agnew with him, who has been about. I worked with Steve years ago at Middlesbrough and he’s an intelligent fella.

“It’s good to have a guiding hand like that. Not so much a mentor, I’m not sure that works too well, but somebody you can bounce ideas off of.

“I had Garry Pendrey [at Celtic] - and I had Alex Miller when I was at Coventry, both older than me and both had been managers and coached at the highest level. I had my raw energy, which Barry has, but you need someone just to temper it now and again.

“I don’t know how they are working or what they are doing, but whatever they are doing it is certainly working just now.”

Robson’s status as the figurehead of Aberdeen is a far cry from the days when Strachan would often have to separate him from one of his Celtic teammates on the training field, but he says those Lennoxtown jousts back in the day only serve to prove the competitive beast that lurks within him.

“They were all good lads, but they changed when they got on the football field,” he said.

“My biggest concern every day at training was keeping him and Willo Flood apart! They were the best of mates, but dear oh dear, they would go at it hammer and tongs.

“Barry’s discipline obviously got better the older he got, and they were great people to work with, but my only problem was him and Willo.

“I used to try to put them on the same side in games, but they didn’t even like that!”