Philip was appointed part-time manager for the first competitive game of the new club, a 1–1 draw with Stenhousemuir on 15 August 1903. In that first season, Aberdeen won the Aberdeenshire Cup, and subsequently made a bid to be elected to the Scottish Football League Division One. Philip was despatched to Glasgow to make the club's case, and returned with the promise of enough support. However, the final decision of the existing league members was to elect Aberdeen to the Second Division.