Raith Rovers on this day in 2015: The game that got Grant Murray the sack

The Raith boss was summoned to a board meeting on the Monday and told his fate following the team’s fifth straight defeat in what was the final home match of the season.

Club chairman Alan Young admitted that the board had become concerned not only by recent results, but also performances, and that the time had come to part company with the 39-year-old.

“I’ve said before that the performances and results are crucial as far as the club is concerned, and it certainly dipped off over the last four or five games,” Young said.

“The performance on Saturday was just awful. As a club we’ve got to try to move forward, and this decision was what we considered to be the best way to move forward.”

Murray’s job had previously come under pressure before Christmas following a poor run, but Young stressed that the decision was taken based on the most recent downturn.

“There was certainly concern earlier on, but that corner was turned and there was a good spell in January and most of February, which was good to see,” he said.

“But at a club like ours, you’ve got to see everybody working hard and working for each other.

"It’s enthusiasm and being positive on the pitch and that certainly wasn’t evident on Saturday.”

A slow uptake of early bird season ticket sales may also have been a factor with a number of supporters informing the club that they would not renew under Murray.

“The supporters are the lifeblood of this club and you’ve got to consider them,” Young explained.

Murray's assistant, Laurie Ellis, took caretaker charge of the team for the final game of the season, a 2-2 draw in Dumbarton the following week.

The initial bookies favourite to replace Murray was former Ross County boss Derek Adams, now at Plymouth Argyle, after he tipped himself for the post in a TV interview, but Rovers ended up turning to Ray McKinnon.

Here is The Fife Free Press match report from that fateful afternoon: Horror show sends Rovers back to square one