Paul Quinn has backed Stephen Craigan to lead Motherwell into the next round of The Europa League if they still have no manager.
The Lanarkshire club are searching for a replacement for Mark McGhee after he moved to Aberdeen, and now face a fight against the clock to make an appointment.
Motherwell have been drawn against Welsh side Llanelli in the First Qualifying Round of the revamped Uefa Cup on July 2, and despite being managerless Quinn remains confident of progression after returning to pre-season training.
“It was a good opening day - Stephen and the rest of the lads did well,” Quinn said in The Scottish Daily Mail.
“If an appointment isn’t made before the first game, then we’ll muster up and get on with it in a professional way.
“We will work hard in training, no question about that and make sure we are ready. The club is well run and we are happy to leave it to the board to take their time to get the right man.
“They are going through a process, rather than just opting for the first name. So we’ll wait and see what happens. Once that is all sorted out, then we can hear the new manager’s ideas and look to the longer term. Right now, we are just making sure we take care of business in the short term.
“The draw against Llanelli is a good one from a travelling point of view because there was a chance we would have to go right across Europe and play in a ridiculous heat. Football-wise, I’m not sure what to make of it but we’ll find out more about them and take it from there.
“There is a chance to get through and have a longer involvement than we did in Europe last season.”