Yet with the Bosman ruling, and Aberdeen's substantial debt, which had built up before Skovdahl became manager, it became clear that the system Skovdahl had used with Brøndby could not be maintained at Aberdeen. With many of the players he had developed on short term contract, and likely to leave at the end of the 2002–03 season, it became clear to Skovdahl that he could not in the long term achieve at Aberdeen what he had with Brøndby. Aberdeen lost narrowly to Hertha Berlin in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup. The club had a poor domestic start to the 2002–03 campaign, prompting Skovdahl to announce his intention to resign. He was replaced by Steve Paterson in December 2002.