SUPPORTERS can rest assured that Irvine Meadow’s players will be doing everything in their power to get the Ayrshire club up the Super Premier Division table.

That’s the determined vow of experienced frontman Paul Maxwell speaking after he took charge of team affairs last night for a friendly match against Renfrew which ended in a 3-1 defeat for the Ayrshiremen.

It proved to be an extremely tough gig for Maxi who is still hurting from last midweek’s surprise decision by Medda officials to dismiss team manager Stevie Rankin.

The big striker has played under Rankin, boss at Medda for 30 months, ever since he first emerged onto the Junior scene as a teenage striker with Ashfield .

He said: “I was a raw 19-year-old when Stevie was brought in at Saracen Park to take over from Willie McGarrigle and it’s no exaggeration to say he and assistant gaffer Murdie McKinnon have exerted a huge influence on my playing career and the same probably applies to most of my Medda team-mates.

“It felt a bit surreal not to have either of them in the dressing room at Renfrew and you could easily sense that morale has taken a battering.

"But we as a group of players owe it to Stevie and Murdie to prove they were right all along in saying this team has it in us to come back off the ropes.

“They have carried the can for our under-performances and it’s not right.”

Maxi was left overseeing team affairs at New Western Park as a direct consequence of events that followed on from the popular management team’s sacking last Tuesday evening.

He added: “The word was out before the players met up the following night for training and it turned quite emotional when Stevie and Murdie appeared to say their goodbyes to everyone.

“Afterwards the chairman and match secretary arrived to speak with the players and let us know their plans for the short and long term, which included asking myself and another of the more senior players, Grant Evans, to look after team matters until a new manager takes over.

“The two of us are more than capable of stepping into the breach as an interim measure.

"However, the Renfrew friendlyand probably one training session could be the sum total of our time in charge seeing as the closing date for applications is Monday, January 4.

“ It’s a given that Medda officials will waste no time in getting down to business in order to have someone in place as we only have the following Saturday's game at home to Glenafton before our Scottish Cup fourth-round tie with Linlithgow Rose.”

These tight timelines have resulted in the names of readily available former players Brian McGinty and Mark Campbell as well as Chris Strain (Kilwinning Rangers ) being voiced as candidates.

Other names linked with the vacant post include brothers Alan and Brian McLuckie along with ex-Glenafton and Kilbirnie Ladeside gaffer Tommy Bryce.

Meanwhile, the bitter disappointment felt over his own dismissal has not prevented erstwhile Medda No.2 Murdie McKinnon from singing the praises of mentor Rankin.

He declared: "Stevie worked at this job seven days a week during the summer months and only marginally less when the dark nights came in.

"And I truly believe Irvine Meadow have dispensed with arguably the hardest working manager in the Junior game.

“His stewardship on the team front has been something to behold and I consider myself so fortunate to have worked alongside him during the past few years.

“Standing by his side has provided the best possible learning curve for myself and if I ever move into management in my own right then I would not hesitate to welcome Stevie into my dugout.

“We walk away with some great memories of the place particularly our first year in charge when the league title was cruelly missed by three points and we lost out in the Scottish semi-finals to the eventual winners Hurlford United.

“During that first campaign, we witnessed the fabulous backing of the Medda support first hand and it speaks volumes about them to have stuck by us throughout our time at the helm even when things have not gone as planned this season .

“And our regard for them explains why we will not speak ill of their club despite what happened last week.”

Murdie went on: "Nobody can deny the people running the club are entitled to get rid of us because football is a results game and our league form has been poor.

"But we were extremely confident of achieving the only targets set for us by the same officials at the start of the season - 24 points and the retention of our Super Premier status .

“ And the timing of Stevie's sacking is all the more difficult to understand with a place in the Scottish Junior Cup secured as well as having a winnable tie against Johnstone Burgh standing between us and the third round of the West of Scotland Cup.

“Getting to the latter stages of the main Cup competitions is no mean achievement yet it didn’t save us from the axe and I would love to know why?

“The explanation given to the players was that no improvement was perceived from results in December yet postponements ensured we only played twice ...a 6-1 Scottish victory over Blackburn United and a narrow 1-0 defeat against the reigning Super Premier champions Auchinleck Talbot.

“Putting this forward as a reason for Stevie’s dismissal shows a lack of respect for what he did for Irvine Meadow.”

FIXTURES FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 3

(Kick-offs 1.45pm)

McBookie.com Super Premier Division: Auchinleck Talbot v Kilbirnie Ladeside.

McBookie.com Super First Division: Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Bellshill Athletic.