John Potter has ruled himself out of the running to be the next Raith Rovers head coach, insisting he is fully committed to his overarching role as technical director.
The former Dunfermline player and manager, and Hibernian and Sunderland number two, had been mentioned as a possible successor at Stark’s Park following the surprise sacking of Ian Murray.
He has taken the reins as interim boss alongside assistant-manager Colin Cameron and will lead the team into Saturday’s home clash with Partick Thistle.
But the 44-year-old has no interest in staying in the job beyond the coming days.
“No, it’s not for me,” he told Courier Sport when asked if he had any interest in the post in the long-term. “I made that decision last year, to come and do this technical director role.
“And I think when you commit to something like that you commit to it.
“My job was probably brought in [by the club] because of moments like this, where something changes in terms of the manager.
“Hpefully everything else goes as smoothly as we can make it.
“The staff will stay the same, in terms of the football staff we have at the moment. And the players have got to get on with it.
‘As smooth as we can’
“That’s kind of why I’m here, to keep that as smooth as we can.
“I’m fully committed to trying to get a result on Saturday.
“And then when the new manager comes in I’ll go back to being the technical director.
“But I’ll be here to help him in any way I can, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch.”
As well as stepping in to lead preparations on the training pitch this week, Potter is also involved with chief executive Andy Barrowman and the Raith board in the hunt for the new manager.
In addition to that process, there are still also discussions taking place about player recruitment.
“It’s been busy, I can guarantee you that,” he smiled. “I’ve not seen my wife and kids for about three days!
“But that’s my job. We’ve got good staff here that can look after their departments, and they’ve been a big help.
“I’ve been working closely with Colin [Cameron] and Robbie [Thomson, goalkeeping coach], in terms of training and the organisation side.
“It’s been a busy few days but we have to try to concentrate on the game on Saturday, because that’s the most important thing just now.
Potter: ‘Get the right man’
“But, at the same time in the background, I’m working alongside Andy and the board and the guys to try to get the new manager and get the right man in.”
The caretaker boss has revealed the playing squad was surprised by the club’s decision to axe Murray on Sunday. It came just one match into the new league season.
But footballers are pretty resilient and most have seen this scenario play out on plenty of other occasions in their careers.
“Monday was difficult for the players,” he added. “The news was probably a shock to some of the players.
“Everyone goes through it. It’s not nice, but it’s part of football. These things happen.
“Then Tuesday, they were back at it. They’re footballers, that’s what they do, they want to play and prepare for the game.
“The players have got to concentrate on their jobs, and in the main they have. They’ve been really good.
“Monday was a little bit quieter. But then Tuesday morning comes and the preparation for Saturday has been very, very good.
“There’ll be a new man coming in. The most important thing is that, as a club, we make sure we get back on track and try to get three points on Saturday.”
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