Craigan admits Brown shock

Craigan: Shocked by Brown exit

Motherwell captain Stephen Craigan admits there is a 'numbness' among the squad following manager Craig Brown's exit.

"There is a bit of numbness among the squad, some people didn't see it coming."
Stephen Craigan Quotes of the week

Brown and assistant Archie Knox parted ways with the Scottish Premier League club on Thursday night after performing a dramatic U-turn and taking up an offer from Aberdeen.

The former Scotland boss, who only on Wednesday reiterated his commitment to the club, has been temporarily replaced by head of youth development Gordon Young, who will prepare the team for their clash at Hearts on Tuesday with Saturday's trip to Dundee United postponed.

Numbness

Craigan told STV the side is still reeling from Brown's exit, saying: "There is a bit of numbness among the squad, some people didn't see it coming.

"When he initially spoke to them on Tuesday, some people didn't even know.

"I'm just glad we don't have a game tomorrow, it gives us a couple of days to settle down."

The Northern Ireland international added: "I don't think we will hold it against him, these things happen in football.

"Ultimately they have made a decision they think is going to benefit them and we just have to get on with it."

Motherwell chairman John Boyle vowed to take his time over appointing a replacement.

"We will do what we always do, pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down," said Boyle.

"We won't have a new manager in place by Tuesday evening. As is always the case in these issues, we will be taking our time. We will be looking in detail at our next appointment."

Brown, meanwhile, hopes to take inspiration from former Aberdeen boss and current Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as he looks to turn things around in his new role at Pittodrie.

Strange

"Strange things happen in football. We spoke yesterday, Archie and I, to a man that's almost my age and he's managing the biggest club in Europe," said Brown.

"Sir Alex was on the phone and he was joking with me, talking about my age and I said 'hey, you're 69 this month'.

"Now he's operating at a far higher level than we are and doing it hugely successfully. I think he's the marker.

"We'll never attain his success but we might have his longevity if we keep doing reasonably well."