Mark Fotheringham has reportedly emerged as a front-runner to become the next Aberdeen boss, with the well-travelled Dundonian seeking a first crack at management in his homeland.
The Dons are hunting their third permanent boss of the season following the shock departure of Neil Warnock, and the 40-year-old is understood to be among the candidates being considered by Pittodrie chiefs.
Fotheringham is fresh from a spell with the South Korean national team, working closely with their former head coach Jurgen Klinsmann as tactical analyst during the Asian Cup.
He has also plied his trade in all three levels of German football and the English Championship, while exclusively telling Courier Sport earlier this month of his desire to break the Old Firm’s stranglehold on Scottish football.
Here, Courier Sport profiles the man from Charleston with big ambitions.
Globetrotting player
If Fotheringham’s coaching career has been varied, then it pales in comparison to the miles clocked up during his 20 years as a player.
A Celtic academy graduate – emerging at the same time as current Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin – he went on to play three times for the Parkhead outfit.
A cultured midfielder, he would later represent both Dundee and United among a host of British clubs, Freiburg of Germany, Swiss outfit Aarau and Cypriots Anorthosis Famagusta.
Making waves in Germany
Fotheringham played under Tomas Oral during the German coach’s time as assistant to Felix Magath at Fulham – and it was that connection that afforded him a first dugout role.
Oral made Fotheringham an assistant coach with Karlsruher in 2016 and, following a brief stint as player/coach at Cowdenbeath, the pair were reunited at Ingolstadt.
They guided Der Schanzer to promotion to the 2.Bundesliga in 2021.
As Fotheringham’s profile continued to build in Germany, Michael Henke – the Champions League-winning No.2 to Ottmar Hitzfeld – stated, “for me there is no one better than Mark in Germany. I can’t speak any higher of him.”
Hertha Berlin heroics
When relegation-threatened Hertha Berlin sent out an SOS to veteran manager Felix Magath in 2022, Fotheringham was named his assistant head coach.
The Scotsman carried out much of the day-to-day coaching and, when Magath was confined to isolation after testing positive for Covid, Fotheringham effectively took charge of the side.
That included the media duties (in his second language) and guiding Hertha to a 3-0 win over Hoffenheim.
Hertha retained their Bundesliga status, with Magath later noting: “Mark Fotheringham did most of the work. On the bench, in training, in discussions with the players.”
Another Champions League winner, former Germany superstar Sami Khedira, said: “He (Magath) made an incredibly smart move with his assistant coach (Fotheringham).
“I rarely see people who can inspire and convince other people at first, and that this man can.
“The players love him, are enthusiastic about him. If you heard the players yesterday: Niklas Stark, Marco Richter, they speak highly of him, and that it was a very smart move.”
Stark, twice capped by Germany, added: “You can tell that the team has been given a jolt. Mark is an amazing guy, and the energy he has is amazing.”
Huddersfield challenges
Fotheringham’s first crack at management in his own right came with English Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town last season.
He was dismissed following four months in charge of the Terriers, winning five games, drawing six and losing 10 – averaging of a point a game.
When Fotheringham arrived, Huddersfield were 23rd in the Championship, three points from safety. He departed with them in 22nd spot, one point from safety and with a game in hand.
In his interview with Courier Sport, Fotheringham was defiant regarding his efforts as the club tightened the purse strings around him.
“They are another three managers down since I left, with another £7m or £8m down the drain,” he said. “And the managers that followed me had almost half a million more on wages that I was given.
“That equates to three or four key players. I’ve got no doubt I would have kept them in the league. When analysing performances, we were up on possession, recoveries, counters; everything.
“That was without any investment to bring in my own players and put my own stamp on it.”
Ironically, given who he conceivably could replace at Pittodrie, Neil Warnock succeeded him at Huddersfield and kept them in the second tier.
And following a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with South Korea – delivering tactical briefings to the likes of Kim Min-jae and Son Hueng-min – Fotheringham’s next stop could be closer to home.
Conversation