Town managing director Ian Milne says the search for a successor to departing boss Mick McCarthy is well under way but has asked for patience as Blues owner Marcus Evans finds the right man for the job.
McCarthy met with Evans on Wednesday when they agreed that the current Town manager will move on when his contract comes to an end in the summer, the club announcing his impending exit, along with that of assistant Terry Connor, the following morning.
"They made the decision between them to go their own way,” Milne told BBC Radio Suffolk’s Life’s a Pitch on Monday prior to the Millwall match. "Mick’s going to see out his contract and that’s the way it is.
"At the moment we can’t comment on these issues, refer to the recent press release we sent out [on Thursday]. There will be future announcements as and when they become available.
"In the meantime we have a number of matches to play before the end of the season, so let’s get behind the club, the manager and the team, that’s very important.
"These are important decisions for the club and we need time so fans have to be patient with us. We’ll come out as soon as we can with the right announcements. I’m sure the majority of fans will understand our position on this.”
Milne agreed that the appointment is one of the most important of Evans’s 10 years at Town.
"It is. It’s a case of who’s available,” he added. "It is important for the club and for all of us to here to make the right decisions and we’ve got to give him time to make those decisions.”
He says the search is well and truly on - "Yes, it is” - but wouldn’t be drawn into outlining a precise timetable and whether the identity of the new man will be made public before the end of the season or in the summer.
"It all depends on how the search goes,” Milne continued. "[Marcus] wants to make a decision as soon as he possibly can.
"That’s all I can say at the moment because it’s a search like any other search. When you’re looking somebody you want to get the right person and it’s a case of making the right decision, something not to be rushed.”
When Evans has made previous managerial appointments he has sought advice from figures throughout the game, Harry Redknapp famously among them, and Milne expects he will similarly be sounding people out this time around.
"I’m sure he’s talking to all his footballing friends, acquaintances, agents and what have you,” he said.
Will senior Town figures such as George Burley - who was in the directors’ box yesterday - and Terry Butcher be among those he speaks to?
"I can’t say precisely who he’s going to talk to, I don’t know all his list of contacts,” the MD continued. "But I think anybody he feels is relevant who can give some ideas.”
Asked whether the new man might be handed an increased budget following his appointment, Milne said: "We’ve got to wait for Marcus’s announcement on that and the future strategy going forward.”
Milne confirmed that Evans, who we understand is currently on holiday in Barbados, is set to do an on-camera interview with the club’s iFollow service, the first time the Blues’ owner will have made a public appearance since taking over at Town just over a decade ago.
"He’s promised to do that, that was in the announcement, so I wait with interest on that as well,” he said.
Does that interview indicate that Evans will have more of a public profile in the future? "I’m sure he’s going to spell that out in the strategy going forward.”
Quizzed on the decision to keep McCarthy in charge for the final eight games rather than appointing a caretaker-boss, Milne said: "All I can say is that there were discussions between Mick and Marcus and that was the decision they came to. I don’t know any more than that.”
He added: "It’s business as usual to the end of his contract and, including myself, we have to be patient.”
Milne says the aim will be to appoint a unifying figure after a fractious couple of years under McCarthy.
"We don’t want anybody to be a disunifying person,” he added. "Going back to the matches for the rest of the season, I think we owe it to the players to get behind them, they work very, very hard week in, week out and they’re going to be very professional in that and I think we should all give them our backing and continue to do so.
"We’ve got a great skipper in Luke Chambers and we’ve got to help him as much as possible, get behind him.”
Prior to the announcement that McCarthy would be leaving, the club revealed that season ticket prices would drop by 10 per cent for 2018/19, a move Milne says has received a positive response.
"I’ve had a lot of good feedback about the 10 per cent reduction,” he said. "[Fans] have said that’s fine, no grumbles at all about it, which is great, but they want to know where the club’s going in the future.”
Ideally the identity of the new manager will be known before the early bird deadline on April 30th but Milne says that won’t necessarily be the case as the most important thing is to get the appointment right.
"Marcus put in his announcement that that’s his intention, to try to get that announcement out. Bear with us,” he said.
"I don’t know if he’s going to name any successor [by that date] but I do believe there might be more on that announcement, we’ll have to wait and see. He’ll be coming out with it either before the early bird or after. It’s a search and you don’t want to rush it.”
You can listen to the full interview with Milne here.