Hamilton Accies chairman Allan Maitland says head coach Brian Rice's resignation came completely out of the blue.
But he will speak to staff, including coaches Guillaume Beuzelin, Brian Potter and George Cairns, tomorrow about where they go from here.
Accies don't have a fixture this weekend, but have arranged a bounce match against Partick Thistle to run the rule over some players, and to get others closer to match fitness.
Maitland says there was no indication that there was a problem with Rice, whom they have always backed since coming into the job in January 2019.
He said: "This was a complete surprise. There was no indication whatsoever, but having spoken to him, we have accepted that resignation.
"We don't have a game at the weekend, which is fortunate, but at the moment we're going to speak to the rest of the staff tomorrow, and that will give us some time to decide where we're going to go, moving forward.
"But it has taken us completely by surprise.
"It wasn't our intention, Brian was our choice, and we've supported him all the way through, and it's a difficult time.
"The search begins for a new manager, so I need to have a chat with the existing staff and then deal with that."
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