Neil Warnock advised Aberdeen to give a new manager time to assess the squad before the summer before stepping down immediately after leading the Dons to Hampden.
Warnock’s departure was announced soon after a 3-1 home victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
It was a second win in eight games for Warnock – the other came against Bonnyrigg Rose in the previous round – since he replaced the sacked Barry Robson on February 5.
That appointment was designed to last until the end of the season but Warnock leaves the club 10th in the cinch Premiership, four points above the danger zone.
Chairman Dave Cormack declared in a brief statement that the search for a long-term manager was at an “advanced stage”. Neil Lennon has emerged as the favourite in recent days after declaring his strong interest in the job.
First-team coach Peter Leven could be in charge for Wednesday’s Premiership clash at Dundee though, with Warnock bowing out immediately.
Warnock said in his final post-match press conference: “I said I’d try to help them out and give them my advice. My advice is to get a new manager in as soon as possible now.
“They’re well down the line and it needs an overhaul in the summer. There’s no use waiting until then and they’ve listened to me.
“I think he needs to have a couple of months looking at the squad now in depth. Because I think to be successful – and you can be successful with the right recruitment – they need a couple of months to assess it.
“I’m glad I’ve been able to get the fans to the semi-final and we deserved it because we were superior in every department. It was a really good way to end.
“I’m disappointed I won’t lead them out at Hampden but some lucky man will come in to do that.”
Warnock described his time at Pittodrie as “up and down”. He faced questions over his future after the Dons lost 2-1 against St Mirren the previous weekend despite leading with 95 minutes on the clock.
“I didn’t enjoy last week after the St Mirren game,” the former Sheffield United manager said. “I did think: ‘What am I doing here at 75’?
“But I knew I had to be the one to get everyone going on Monday because you don’t have time to dwell.”
Warnock’s departure was planned during a meeting with Cormack and chief executive Alan Burrows on Thursday.
“We had a chat and I thought it was the right time to bring someone else in,” he said. “They’re not far away. If it’s just one game or so, Peter will be okay.
“The lads know what they’re doing now. I felt it was the right time. I wanted to win and finish like that.
“That was the situation on Thursday. I told them how I felt and we’ve left amicably.”
Warnock will now possibly spend time at his holiday home in Dunoon and stated he might go to watch Morton in their quarter-final against Hearts on Monday, while he promised the Aberdeen players he will go to Hampden “for the final”.
But he would not rule out one last job, having come out of retirement last season to steer Huddersfield away from relegation danger.
When asked if this was the end, he said: “I’ve just been asked that and I said, ‘look, it’s the 16th time I’ve retired now’. I would say yes but who knows, when you get to my age you don’t know what’s around the corner – you just hope that you keep living.”
Jamie McGrath opened and closed the scoring and Graeme Shinnie netted on a day of mixed emotions for the captain – he picked up a late yellow card for dissent which will rule him out of the semi-final.
Danny Armstrong pulled a goal back for Killie late in the first half but they could not carve out any second-half chances.
The visitors missed winger Matty Kennedy through injury and could not bring on Kevin van Veen after the striker experienced a tight hamstring during the warm-up.
Manager Derek McInnes said: “We had a brilliant crowd here, expectations have been raised, but we never met that expectation and sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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