Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor is confident co-managers Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson will thrive despite being handed the reins earlier than scheduled.
MacGregor had long earmarked Kettlewell and Ferguson, both former players who had roles within County’s youth set-up, as a future management team at Victoria Park.
That plan was accelerated following the departure of previous manager Owen Coyle in March, following an unsuccessful five-month spell in which the Staggies won just four out of 21 games.
Although Kettlewell and Ferguson could not keep County in the Premiership, ending the club’s six-year stay among Scotland’s elite, MacGregor has been encouraged by the progress they have already made in assembling a squad capable of returning to the top-flight at the first time of asking.
Along with convincing several players to remain, County have added Iain Vigurs, Josh Mullin, Jamie Lindsay and Declan McManus, and MacGregor feels the vision spearheaded by Kettlewell and Ferguson is taking shape.
MacGregor said: “I had told them before I appointed Owen that they were going to get the job next.
“I would have done it at that point, but I felt it was the wrong time to do it in the middle of the season.
“I felt, as young managers, they would need a close-season to get the players in.
“They have known for over a year the position was going to be theirs next time around – it just came a bit quicker than everyone expected.
“They are very open and straightforward.
“They are two really brilliant guys that have got great behaviours and ethics.
“They won’t allow it to not succeed through effort – it might through other reasons. But they have been very definite in their policy.
“We talked about what we required and we wanted to keep some of the players that were here, who we felt had the right spirit and qualities to be able to battle and get us back up.
“We have added some players that we think have got a challenge in themselves to better themselves.
“We’ve had that in our minds and we’ve managed to do some of it. We’ve got a bit more, we’ve got another three or four players to take in yet.
“We are on that journey and hopefully by the start of pre-season we will have them in.”
Although County’s wage budget has been cut as a result of relegation, MacGregor feels the club has managed to retain a solid nucleus as County aim to hit the ground running in their efforts to return to the Premiership.
MacGregor added: “We could have had huge cuts behind the scenes and we haven’t done that.
“We have had to cut wages, and we have had to trim one or two of the squad, because the money in the Championship is not the same.
“But we haven’t made wholesale changes. We have made sure that what Ross County is about is very clear to everyone.
“There are normally hangovers. Off the field we haven’t had a hangover, but on the field we have got to make sure we don’t suffer a hangover.
“It has been fairly normal for clubs that have been relegated to have a hangover for three or four months.
“We have got to make sure there is no hangover and we start from day one and get going.”