Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie has refused to confirm if Inverness manager Terry Butcher is the favourite to succeed Pat Fenlon as Easter Road boss.
The Leith outfit lost their first match since the 44-year-old Irishman resigned when they went down 1-0 to Motherwell at Fir Park.
But Hibs chief Petrie declined to comment on speculation Butcher is now the man he wants to take the club forward.
He said: “I think Pat Fenlon did a good job but he’s made his decision and we are looking forward now. I’m not going into any names. It’s important that we take our time and get the right guy.”
Fenlon’s No 2 Jimmy Nicholl was in charge of Hibs for their Scottish Premiership clash with Well but watched his fragile new charges go down to Stephen McManus’ 23rd-minute header.
The Northern Irishman was visibly saddened to see Fenlon go but thought he had managed to persuade the former Bohemians boss to stay on in the capital following Wednesday’s humiliating loss to Hearts in the League Cup quarter-finals.
He said: “I tried to talk Pat out of resigning. For a good length of time and I thought I had him too. But deep down I could see the relief in him once he had made his decision.
“Can I understand his reasons? No, and I told him I thought he was going for the wrong reasons. But then when you watch the interview after he announced he was leaving, you can see the weight coming off him.”
Well boss Stuart McCall took that 2-0 defeat to the Dons to heart but was pleased to see his side return to winnings ways.
“To win today is a massive relief because it has been a tough week,” he said.