Rothes chairman Iain Paul says they need to find someone to get them away from the foot of the Breedon Highland League after parting company with Richard Hastings.
The former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Canada defender – who has also managed Inverurie Locos in the Highland League – was appointed in February with the Speysiders 10th in the table.
However, Hastings won only three of his 27 games in charge and departs Mackessack Park with Rothes bottom of the Highland League following Saturday’s 6-0 loss to Strathspey Thistle, who leapfrogged them on goal difference.
Following the introduction of the pyramid system the side who finish bottom could face a relegation play-off, if clubs who meet the Highland League’s entry criteria win the North Caledonian League, North Region Junior Premier League or Midlands League.
As a result, Paul, who says the position of manager will be advertised, feels Rothes need to find someone to steer them to safety.
Relegation threat
He said: “There is a big difference between finishing bottom now and finishing bottom five years ago, because of the potential threat of relegation.
“We’re not happy with where we are and we’ll aspire to change it as quickly as we can.
“We’ve played 15 league games, so it’s not early in the season any more.
“We need to get points on the board and need to find a way to get ahead of the teams that are above us.
“Our aim is to get ourselves away from the threat of relegation.
“The job will be advertised and we’ll consider all the options that may be available to us.
“My job is to make an appointment that can get us out of trouble and start climbing the league again.
“We need to try to find ways to improve the squad and try to get some momentum to get us to a safe place.
“Ultimately it is a results business. It’s up to the club to get results and that’s why we felt a change of manager was necessary.
“I’ve had a lot of messages of support from people with regards the club and the position we’re in, that goodwill is appreciated.
“We are starting from a higher base in terms of credibility, structure and status than in 2015 (when the club almost went out of business).
“We would like to think the club is an attractive proposition, and from the feedback I’ve been getting that appears to be the case.
“I would hope managers and players see us as a credible place where they could ply their trade.”
Difficult run
In their last 12 games in all competitions, Rothes have drawn once and been beaten 11 times – shipping 56 goals in the process.
The Speysiders’ last victory was a 3-2 win against Nairn County on August 16.
Reflecting on Hastings’ tenure, Paul added: “There had been a bit of a decline in terms of our position before Richard came in.
“We hoped Richard coming in would allow us to regroup and kick on again and that hasn’t been the case.
“The end of last season was a mixed bag, but this season we haven’t been able to sustain any progress.
“We’ve got a young team who are trying to find their feet. But when we’ve had better performances or results, we haven’t been able to build on it and we’ve suffered some heavy blows.
“It culminated on Saturday when we were well beaten. I think Strathspey have improved in all aspects and it perhaps highlighted where we haven’t made the same progress.
“Everyone connected with the club was hurting about what happened.
“But I need to say that Richard’s passion, commitment, drive and enthusiasm to try to improve things has been outstanding.
“All the feedback I’ve been given is that Richard’s training is exceptional, but unfortunately that hasn’t manifested positively on a matchday often enough.”
Injuries and recruitment have been challenging
Rothes don’t have a game this weekend and director of football Derek Thomson will take training for the time being, but they hope to soon secure extra coaching assistance for the interim period before a new manager is appointed.
Paul believes a combination injuries and difficulty in recruiting players has also made things tough for the Speysiders in recent times.
He said: “We’ve had a young squad and a lot of injuries.
“I’m not one for making excuses, but it is tough for teams at the moment trying to find players. Attracting players has proved difficult and it seems there hasn’t been the same movement of players for some time.
“Being in the middle we hope we might be able to attract players from the Inverness area and Aberdeenshire.
“We’ve got a young team and we’re lacking in depth due to injuries and we’ve also been lacking experience to help us through this period.”
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