Ian Murray was even "shocked" when Raith Rovers told him that they were parting ways, Andrew Barrowman, the clubs chief executive has confirmed. 

Murray led Raith to second in the Scottish Championship last season, and for large parts of the campaign they ran eventual winners, Dundee United, close to the title. 

They lost the play-off final double header against Ross County and ultimately failed to gain promotion to the top-flight. 

Most observers still deemed that a positive season for the Fife outfit, yet after one league game, a 1-0 defeat to Airdrieonians on Saturday was enough to see the Raith board pull the trigger on Murray's two-year tenure. 

Barrowman revealed how he broke the news to the Raith manager and insisted there was no fallout behind the dismissal as speculated by some quarters since the announcement. 

“I spoke to Ian a couple of times on Sunday and he was shocked obviously,” the Raith CEO told their club TV.

“I don’t think he necessarily agreed with my points, but he understood the rationale behind the decision, which is a mark of the individual.

“He’s been in the game along time. he’s been at the highest level a long time. He understands how the football world works, as crazy as it can be at times.

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“I understand the shock. I can see why it came as a shock to fans and the wider football community given the exploits of last season.

“I can absolutely understand the shock that came when the news broke.”

“This isn’t a kneejerk reaction. It’s not based on one performance, five performances, or eight including the pre-season games,” he continued to explain.

“It’s an opinion formed over a number of months. We live and breathe this club. Every waking moment, we think about Raith Rovers.

"We see things, we hear things, we feel things that inform these opinions.

“Ultimately it’s our job to make decisions. Whether they’re right or wrong, only time will tell.

“Despite what people think, there was no flashpoint and no falling out.

“People talk about timing – why did we not do it at the end of last season?

“Rightly or wrongly, we believed that Ian deserved the opportunity for us to be better. We think he earned the right to go into the new season.

“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing. Could we have acted differently? Possibly, but it’s still our belief that Ian had earned the right to go into the new season.

“Ultimately, we don’t believe Ian was the man to take us forward and that’s why we came to the decision.”

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Barrowman doesn't reckon Murray, who had been linked with the Hibernian job before they decided to appoint David Gray earlier this year, has ruined his chances of gaining another reputable role within Scottish football, and believes the ex-Raith boss still done a good job overall in Kirkcaldy. 

“I don’t think Ian comes out of the situation badly at all," he stated.

“He did a very good job at Raith Rovers, I think, even previous to our time at the club.

“I don’t think his CV’s been damaged in any way, shape or form and I’m absolutely sure that he’ll go on to be successful in his next job and his next job after that.”