With most of the time since his dismissal by Dunfermline spent in Newcastle working towards his Pro Coaching licence, Stephen Kenny says the reality of losing his first job outside of Ireland still hasn't completely hit him yet. Despite the side's run of poor results, the Dubliner insists he was surprised to be sacked and maintains that he could have turned things around had he been allowed to work on. Instead, he will take some time to weigh up his options, both in Scotland and back here in Ireland, before deciding on his next move.

Kenny's sacking came less than 24 hours after he had been assured he would be given more time to turn things around at East End Park. Confident that he would lead the team into Saturday's league game against Clyde and hopeful that a win against a side two points better off in the table would mark a turning point in the campaign, Kenny had gathered his squad last Tuesday for a major pep talk.

He had just told them that he intended to be there after some of them were gone when there was a knock at the door and chairman John Yorkston called him outside in order to give him the bad news.

Though clearly disappointed and adamant that with a full squad he could have enjoyed long-term success at the club, it is only the manner of his employers' swift about turn that has left a slightly bitter taste.

"There was a lot of pressure but the club had been generally good about the situation and the supporters stayed behind me for the most part," he says.

"I think everybody appreciated the terrible run of bad luck that we'd had with injuries and I believed that when we started getting a few bodies back for the Clyde game, we could turn a corner. So last Monday when I was told I'd still be in charge on Saturday I felt happy enough about the situation. To be told the following day then that was I gone was quite a blow." He concedes if he was given his time at the club again he would do one or two things a little differently. "It's all a learning process," he says, "and yeah, I made some mistakes but it wasn't an ideal situation either and I knew what needed to be done . . . I just wasn't in a position to do it."

Kenny's problem was that he inherited a squad containing a significant number of players on big money and long contracts. Having attempted to edge a handful towards the door during the off-season, he found there were no takers and so ended up having to work with them again this year.

The resulting tensions were predictable and the manager's frustration was compounded by the fact that with the players still drawing down their wages, there was no money to make the sort of signings he actually wanted.

"I don't want to just dump on my players because most of the lads were great but there were a few problems with lads whose attitude was really disappointing. I could have coped with that, though, if everyone had been fit but instead we just had one injury after another. I mean, I know people will think I'm just making excuses but we had eight operations, five of them to do with knee injuries, at the club since the start of this season. I've had times at other clubs where I've had one of those in a year."

He expected to have three players - Tam McManus, Scott Wilson and Jim McIntyre - back for Saturday and hoped that a win followed by positive results against Stirling Albion and Queen of the South would create the momentum required to help the team achieve third place at the end of the season.

At that stage many of the older players would be out of contract and the serious business of rebuilding would begin. Instead, McIntyre was put in charge and the team went on to draw the game.

With his wife and children having settled well in Scotland since following him there in the summer, Kenny is reluctant to uproot them again but he has already been linked with jobs here, including a possible return to the Brandywell and he is not ruling anything out in the longer term.

"What I probably need first and foremost," he says, "is a break and a little bit of time to think things over because it's been pretty relentless for the past couple of years. After that, I don't know really.

"We're happy here in Scotland and I'd like to manage over here again but we'll have to wait and see what comes up."