East Fife legend Gordon Durie has emerged as a front-runner to take over the New Bayview hotseat following the resignation of Stevie Crawford.
Durie, a former Scotland internationalist, began his illustrious playing career in Methil and his son Scott is a defender with the club.
A frequent spectator as a result, 44-year-old Durie is now seen as one of the favourites to succeed Crawford despite a lack of any managerial experience.
Although it is thought that the board of directors would prefer an experienced man at the helm as the club tries to avoid being dragged into a relegation fight, it’s thought that Durie’s contacts in the game would make him an attractive choice with the Fifers’ hierarchy.
The shock announcement of Crawford’s resignation brought to an end an 18-month reign which culminated in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Forfar.
Tendering his resignation to Bayview chairman Sid Collumbine on Monday morning, the board of directors agreed to the will of the former Scotland international striker with the club sitting in eighth place in the second division.
Speaking exclusively to Courier Sport, a clearly gutted Crawford admits that leaving the Bayview hotseat was not an easy step to take but one that he hopes will benefit the club.
He said, “I’m disappointed and it was a very hard decision but I thought about it over the weekend and believe that it’s best if the club wants to move forward.
“Unfortunately the last couple of games haven’t been great and we were flat on Saturday.
“I was looking for a reaction before the Brechin game but it just didn’t happen.
“The players have been great, though it was just disappointing the way we went about our business against Forfar.”
Having taken over following the departure of Dave Baikie in April 2009, Crawford’s time in charge-his first managerial post in football-was a mixture of highs and lows.
Encouraging his players to adopt a cultured passing game, East Fife could, on occasion, mesmerise opponents and those watching from stands as they sprayed the ball around the park.
A respectable first campaign saw the Methil club consolidate their second division status with a seventh place finish albeit by finishing just one point away from the relegation play-off spot.
However, the defensive frailties that Crawford inherited were never far from undermining his attacking style and in the end were simply to prove impossible for the rookie manager to solve.
The home defeat to Forfar means that the Fifers have taken just nine points from their opening ten games.
However, undeterred by his experience, Crawford maintains that he would like to go back into management in the future.
He said, “We’ll just see what happens, I guess. It might take a few months or it might take a few years.
“But I put a lot of thought into this decision and sat down and spoke with the family.
“It’s not about Stevie Crawford learning but about what is best for East Fife as a football club.”
Crawford will remain a member of the East Fife playing squad, although whether he will feature again in the black and gold is somewhat doubtful.QuestionableHe has already ruled himself out of Saturday’s game against Dumbarton as he takes a break from the club, and whether he will feature under any new regime is questionable.
However, as long as he is contracted to the the Fifers, Crawford states that he is committed to performing on the pitch should he be asked to.
He added, “I thought it was important not to feature this weekend as the boys have a massive game.
“But if a manager is in place and wants me to play then I will give 100% on the park.”
Crawford’s departure came as something of a shock to Bayview chairman Sid Collumbine who admits that he tried to talk his first managerial appointment out of stepping down.
However, after reluctantly agreeing, Collumbine appeared keen to reassure fans that control of the playing squad will not be left in limbo for too long as the club seek to avoid becoming embroiled in a relegation battle.
He also stated that the players had to take more than their share of the blame for recent results, who he believes have been less than committed and undermined the manager.
Collumbine said, “It was a shock when Stevie called me requesting a meeting to tender his resignation. We tried to talk him out of it because he’s worked very hard for East Fife.
“But it just wasn’t happening for him and he thought that the club should be taking another direction.
“I think the players haven’t really helped and they let him down badly on Saturday.
“They just weren’t doing it and it’s sad as Stevie has really put everything into it.
“Today has been a sad day for the club.”