Montrose chairman Derek Sim has admitted that the club are looking to bring in an experienced manager as soon as possible in a bid to avoid the pyramid play-offs.
The Angus side parted company with boss George Shields on Sunday morning after a disappointing series of results that had culminated in a 3-0 home defeat to East Fife the day before.
Montrose currently sit second bottom of League Two just one point ahead of East Stirling who have three games in hand on the Gable Endies.
Elgin City who are one point ahead of Montrose in eighth place also have four games in hand and the sides meet at Borough Briggs this Saturday.
Montrose assistant Lee Wilkie and goalkeeping coach John McCafferty have taken temporary charge of team affairs but Sim is keen to have a permanent replacement for Shields appointed sooner rather than later.
The chairman said: “I met with George on Sunday morning and we agreed that because of our league position it was best he stood down.
“He had received personal abuse during the East Fife game which was well over the top.
“The board fully supported George during the transfer window and we brought in a total of seven players.
“So far it has not worked out the way we had hoped.
“So we need to bring someone else in and start getting things right to get us out of this position.
Sim added: “Lee has agreed to take training along with John until a new manager is appointed.
“We will be looking to bring in someone as soon as possible.
“We are looking for a manager with lots of experience and we have a couple of names in mind but we will have to check on their availability and whether they would come to Montrose.
“We need someone to come in and get the team gelling straight away to get the points we need to ensure we are not involved in the pyramid play-offs.
“We have 11 cup finals left until the end of the end of the season.”