Ross Matthews has confessed the Raith Rovers players were as stunned as anyone to be told boss Ian Murray had been sacked.
But the Stark’s Park midfielder admits the ruthless nature of football means they have had to move on quickly this week.
The Kirkcaldy outfit are preparing to host Partick Thistle on Saturday afternoon in their first outing since Murray lost his job last weekend.
And Matthews insists seeing their manager depart and eventually replaced is a scenario most players have to get accustomed to through their careers.
“If I’m being honest, all the players were quite surprised,” the midfielder told Courier Sport. “No-one really expected it on Sunday morning.
“But myself and most of the players have been through this plenty of times, so we know what to expect.
“It’s never nice seeing someone lose their job. But it’s part of football and we have had to concentrate on ourselves and getting ready for the Partick Thistle game.
“Obviously, you could say it’s been a difficult week with the gaffer losing his job.
“But we’ve got to put that to the back our minds and concentrate on this game.
‘Try to entertain the fans’
“Whether the gaffer was here or not, every single player would be giving 100 per cent and trying to win this game. Nothing has changed as far as that is concerned.
“We’ll go out to give our all and try to entertain the fans and get three points. But it’s never easy against Partick; it’ll definitely be difficult.”
Raith explained that a downturn in performances and results in the second half of last season and at the start of the current campaign brought them to their surprising decision to axe Murray.
They won 12 of their opening 18 Championship games last term before dropping to just eight victories in the second half after the new year.
But, after finishing runners-up to Dundee United and reaching an ill-fated Premiership play-off final against Ross County, Matthews believes there is plenty of reason for optimism for whoever comes in as the new manager.
“That run we went on in the first half of last season is what everyone is aiming to get back to,” added Matthews.
“We want that free-flowing football, boys being confident and expressing themselves on the pitch. That’s what we’ll be trying to do.
“Even though it’s maybe not been as pretty, we were still getting results.
“But everyone wants to get back to football that’s enjoyable to watch and enjoyable to play in. That’s the aim, along with winning games.
Matthews: ‘Everyone still believes’
“Things should be extremely positive for the new manager – where we finished last season, coming so close to promotion, the squad we’ve got.
“Our aspirations are still the same – to get promoted this season – and everyone still believes we can do that.
“We’ve maybe not had the perfect start to the season. We would have liked to have qualified for the Premier Sports Cup and got a better result from our first league game.
“But it’s only a few games, so there’s a long way to go.”
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