Paul Kirk was sacked by Lisburn Distillery last week

Lisburn Distillery chairman Jim McGrory has told the BBC he is keen to appoint a new manager as soon as possible.

"There are half a dozen contenders at the moment but the board are keen to get someone in quickly to allow the new boss to talk to the players," he said.

"A number of players are devastated by the decision to sack Paul Kirk and they basically asked that he be reinstated.

"If a player does not want to play for the club we will try to facilitate them by transfer-listing them."

McGrory added: "I can understand their feelings as they have worked under Paul for some time and I don't know what they are wanting to do in the future.

"I have told them that if they do not want to play in the Europa League tie, we would be fielding a team anyhow.

"If we need to bring in new players that will happen.

"The decision to sack Paul (Kirk) was not a mild one and the decision was taken by a majority of the board.

"Managers come and go in all leagues and now we have to look forward and do our best for the club.

"I would thank Paul for the work he put in for the club and wish him well for the future."

McGrory admitted that the club may "move backwards for a while until the new manager gets a chance to rebuild the team".

"Unless we are able to hold onto our players we may have to go back before we go forward," he said.

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