Nobody was expecting to hear today that Raith Rovers were looking for their THIRD manager of this season.
But that’s the reality after the news that Neill Collins is leaving for Sacramento Republic after the USL Championship side paid out his Raith contract.
The 41-year-old has only been in charge at Stark’s Park since September and taken charge of 15 games, winning six, drawing three and losing six.
He was the chosen replacement for Ian Murray, who had been sacked after one league game having come close to promotion from the Championship last season.
Collins is a previous boss of Barnsley and Tampa Bay Rowdies, and a Raith statement confirmed it had always been his ambition to return to the US.
Raith will now need to find their third boss of the campaign and Not the Old Firm has looked at eight possible candidates.
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Kevin Thomson
Hasn’t had another chance since leaving Kelty Hearts after leading them to the League Two title, probably unfairly. It’s believed he previously turned down the Raith job, so that may work against him.
Christophe Berra
Former Stark’s Park defender was previously reported by Football Scotland to be keen on the job after Murray’s sacking. Prior to that, he had talked about wanting to return to coaching in the UK after a stint in the States.
Berra said: “I think obviously everybody would love to be first-team but the opportunities there are few and far between. Realistically am I going to go straight in as a manager at a full-time club here? Probably not. However, I’ve been to watch games, to watch training sessions at clubs and I’m very open. There’s no right way or wrong way to get to where you want to go.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to pass on to individuals be it young kids or adults. But tactically as well, I really like that side of the game but I know there’s managers that have went straight in and got the job but there’s people who have gone into academies and worked their yards and done the years and learned techniques to improve, then went on to bigger and better things.
“So there’s no right or wrong way. I think it would be native to think ‘this is what I’m going to do, this is how I’m going to get to where I want’. Very rarely does it work like that. So I’m very open to a lot of things – full-time, part-time. I just like coaching and trying to improve players and teams. But also to learn things myself, I’m really interested in how other clubs do things and all that kind of stuff, and kind of building it into your own beliefs in the game as well.”
Steven Naismith
Started well at Hearts last season but this campaign was catastrophic. Stock won’t be high as a result so would maybe have to drop down to the Championship.
Barry Robson
Robson’s story is similar to Naismith’s after a third-placed finish with Aberdeen before being sacked the following campaign. Linked with jobs since but still to get back in.
Craig Levein
Experienced manager was recently sacked by St Johnstone and has previously bossed Raith in 2006.
Lee Bullen
Former Ayr United boss is out of work after a mixed spell at Somerset.
Gary Naysmith
The former Scotland and Everton left-back is working wonders at Stenhousemuir after winning League Two for what was their first EVER league title. Now sitting second in League One with every chance of back-to-back promotions.
Stewart Petrie
Long-serving Petrie has been with Montrose for eight years. Won League Two in 2018 and has been in the third tier ever since, at times coming close to promotion to the Championship.