Victorious Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray had some words of sympathy for beaten Motherwell manager Steven Hammell and says he hopes the Premiership strugglers can turn their season around quickly.
Speaking before it emerged that Motherwell had parted company with Hammell and his assistant Brian Kerr, Murray said he doesn’t like to see somebody struggling in the job.
But Raith Rovers beating Motherwell 3-1 in the Scottish Cup fifth round proved to be the final straw for the Fir Park club, with ex-Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell taking charge at least on an interim basis.
Murray said: “I knew Motherwell were fragile, because of where they are in the league, and I don’t really enjoy seeing that, if I’m being truthfully honest, because we’ve all been there.
“I feel for Steven at the moment as a manager. I played with Steven as a youngster with the Scotland national teams and I see no joy in seeing Motherwell where they are.
“We all know what football is like, it’s very fickle and I hope they recover really quickly and pick up points.”
Murray, however, had no doubt that the Championship side were worthy of their win today.
He said: “I’m really happy. We only had about a 10-15 minute spell at the start of the second half when we looked a wee bit ropey, but even then it wasn’t like Jamie has pulled off a lot of saves.
“I’m delighted to be in the next round of the Scottish Cup, the players deserve it, they’ve been excellent all season and particularly this week when they’ve shown real character and desire.”
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