Turriff United chairman Gairn Ritchie hopes their next manager can continue the good work done by Dean Donaldson.
Turra, who face Fraserburgh in the Breedon Highland League at Bellslea this afternoon, lost Donaldson and coaches Jamie Lennox and Greg Moir to Inverurie Locos this week.
Graeme Taylor and David Scarth are in interim charge of United, who are fifth in the table, with the club looking for applications for their vacant position.
Haughs chief Ritchie said: “We’re looking for someone to continue the work that Dean’s been doing with our young team.
“We want to see if we can push on to the next stage and see if we can win some trophies in the coming years.
“Our ultimate aim at some point in the future would be to try to win the league.
Over the weekend Turriff United Football were informed by our manager Dean Donaldson that he wanted to leave. pic.twitter.com/71s1onIP5b
— Turriff United Football Club (@TurriffUnitedFC) October 12, 2023
“I’m not saying that will happen and nobody is expecting it in the next wee while, but ultimately we’re all playing in the Highland League to try to win it.
“The club is in a good place Dean, the coaches and the players have done a fantastic job to get us to this stage.
“Off the field we’re in a good place, we’ve had good hospitality support and we’re getting investment in the club.
“Everything’s very positive just now, apart from losing our manager, but it’s one of those things that happen in football and we have to move on.
“Dean was a great guy to work with and we had a very good relationship, he’s someone I would class as a friend and I’m disappointed he’s gone.”
Stuart want to continue good form
Meanwhile, Dylan Stuart doesn’t want Donaldson’s departure to derail Turriff’s good start to the season.
Ahead of facing the Broch the 21-year-old, who can play in defence or midfield, said: “It was a shock, but it’s part and parcel of football.
“As a player you’ve just to focus on the games and not let it distract you.
“We want to keep doing what we’ve been doing and try to put another three points on the board.
“I loved working with Dean, Jamie and Greg. They were good to me and put a lot of trust in me. I couldn’t say a bad work about them.”
Meanwhile, Fraserburgh haven’t won in their last three games in all competitions.
But manager Mark Cowie is taking heart from their display in Wednesday’s Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield tie against Aberdeen.
The Broch were defeated on penalties following a 2-2 draw with a Dons side featuring a host of first-team players.
Cowie added: “It’s difficult because Turriff is a different game with different scenarios to what we faced on Wednesday.
“But I’ve told the guys if we can match the work-rate we have players who can hurt teams at any level.
“Ryan Sargent is in a good vein of form, Scott Barbour hasn’t been as good as he can be, but showed against Aberdeen what he can do.
“They put Aberdeen under a good bit of pressure and that’s what we need from them no matter who we are playing.”
