St Johnstone caretaker manager, Andy Kirk, no longer has his McDiarmid Park mentor to lean on and learn from.
But the Perth coach is fully aware that “football moves fast”.
And he hasn’t ruled out throwing his hat into the ring to take over from Craig Levein permanently.
Kirk, who worked under Levein at Hearts, Brechin City and then Saints, won’t be thinking about long-term managerial ambitions until this weekend’s Ross County game is out of the way.
But he stressed that the man who was sacked on Tuesday afternoon is fully behind his decision to accept the interim boss role, along with Alex Cleland.
“It’s never nice when a manager loses his job,” said Kirk.
“I’ve spoken to the players and there’s a sense of responsibility from everyone.
“The players had a lot of respect for Craig so there’s obviously sadness.
“I’ve had a strong relationship with Craig for a number of years.
“Obviously, he asked me to come here and help him out, which I was glad to do.
“It’s a fantastic club and a great opportunity.
“But Craig’s an experienced manager and he knows what the game brings with it. It was a bit of a shock how quick it came round but the results weren’t good.
“I’ve spoken to him and so have a few of the players.
“This is an honest group. When any manager loses his job something’s not right.
“Collectively, we’ve got to shoulder that and the players realise that.
“But this game moves fast.
“We have to get the points on Saturday that will lift everybody at the club.”
After Saturday
On whether he wants to be considered for the role beyond the caretaker stint, Kirk said: “Myself and Alex have been told we’ll take the team on Saturday and the process will start for the next manager.
“That’s as much as we need to know.
“Our job is to make sure the team is in the best condition and frame of mind possible for a massive game.
“Craig’s had a big part to play in my development as a coach.
“His first thing was: ‘You absolutely stay in the job’. The professionalism from myself says the same thing.
“Short-term, it’s not something I’ve thought about.
“It’s a decision for the club. If they want to have a conversation at some point around those things, I’ll obviously have a conversation.
“But at the minute it’s about the players, getting some points on the table and getting the supporters in a positive frame of mind.
“I know it’s a cliché but I’m just looking at Saturday. After that, we’ll see what comes next.
“The club will know what they want to do with role and what will be will be.”
Cancer news shock
Meanwhile, on an even more serious note, Kirk and the players have had to absorb the news that owner, Adam Webb, has been diagnosed with cancer.
“We were really shocked by the news,” he said.
“This is a very tough time for Adam and his family. Everyone sends him their best wishes.
“We hope that the treatment works well and we see him back here soon.
“A lot of things have happened in the last few days and the Adam news wasn’t nice to hear.
“But we’ve got to keep functioning as a football club and keep moving forward – Adam will want us to do that the best we can.
“We’ll work hard to make sure the players are focused on what we need to do.
“I had a chat with Adam on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Adam, the CEO and other members of the board have let me know they’re behind us.
“We all want the best for this football club.”
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