The Danish-born Ebbe Skovdahl became Aberdeen's first non-Scottish manager in 1999, and his time in charge coincided with some of the heaviest defeats in the club's history, together with the first time the club had ever finished bottom of the league – the ensuing relegation play-off with Falkirk being avoided as Falkirk did not have a ground which met Premier League standards. Skovdahl did, however, lead the club to two cup finals in 2000 and a fourth-place finish in 2002, but left the club partway through the 2002–03 season when he felt he had taken it as far as he could.