Stephen Glass insists Allan Russell is "a big part of the staff"

| 14 May 2021

Allan Russell left his role as England striker coach on Thursday over the circumstances surrounding a road traffic accident last year.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass declared his assistant Allan Russell a big part of his staff after the coach left his England role in the wake of revelations over a road traffic incident.

Former Kilmarnock striker Russell only joined the Dons last month and will remain in his position at Pittodrie.

An Aberdeen statement read: "The club has now been made aware of all the circumstances surrounding a regrettable road traffic accident last year, in which Allan was a passenger in the vehicle.

"He is deeply remorseful about the consequences of this incident for everyone involved.

"Having taken everything into consideration, we feel Allan made a serious error of judgement but he took responsibility and has suffered the consequences.

"We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to redeem themselves by learning from their mistakes and the club will be supporting Allan in his role as an assistant coach at AFC, where he is already making a positive impact."

When asked if he had known of all the circumstances surrounding last summer's crash before getting Russell on board, Glass said: "I was aware of an incident but I don't need to add to the club statement.

"I will stand by the club statement, Allan is a big part of the staff here at the club"

The 40-year-old had joined the FA in March 2017 as England's striker coach and was praised for his part in their success in front of goal at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

An FA spokesperson said: "We were made aware last Thursday of the circumstances of Allan Russell's involvement in a road traffic accident in July 2020.

"We have agreed with Allan that it is in the best interests of all for him to leave his consultancy position. We would like to thank him for his work."

A spokesman for Russell said: "He is very mindful of the impact this has had on all parties involved.

"Furthermore, he does not want to become a distraction to Gareth Southgate and the England team going into the Euros this summer.

"He has therefore agreed to leave his post with the FA and will concentrate fully on his coaching role at Aberdeen FC."