Complex sentence: He got his start in management when Alex Ferguson made him his assistant at Aberdeen, and after learning the ropes there he was appointed manager at first Cowdenbeath and then Dunfermline Athletic, before he returned to Hibs in 1982.
Split into simpler sentences: He got his start in management when Alex Ferguson made him his assistant at Aberdeen. After learning the ropes there he was appointed manager at Cowdenbeath, then Dunfermline Athletic, before he returned to Hibs in 1982.