Livingston boss Gary Holt admits he wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if he'd not allowed former striker Lee Miller the chance to start his managerial career.
The veteran was allowed to join League One side Falkirk on Tuesday where he will team up with David McCracken to take temporary charge of the Bairns following the dismissal of Ray McKinnon. The pair take charge for the first time in this evening's Scottish Cup third round clash away at East of Scotland Premier League side Linlithgow Rose.
And despite a lengthy injury-list that is likely to prevent the Lions from naming a full matchday squad for tomorrow's visit to Celtic, Holt said he had no hesitation in letting Miller leave for the club he himself started his managerial career with.
He said: "I didn't think twice about letting Lee go. As you get on in years, and see someone else getting an opportunity like that, you just have to be the bigger man.
"If we said ‘no you can't go, we need you at the moment’, and then that opportunity doesn't come again for Lee, I don't think I would be able to sleep at night. That would actually be quite cruel.
"It's a great job at hopefully he does really well. My only advice for Lee was ‘enjoy the sleepless nights!’ That's all you can say. There is no manual for management. You do your badges, your education, then the Pro Licence, which is all a massive help. However, nothing tells you how to deal with everything else.
"The on-field stuff is the easy bit. The challenge is dealing with injured players, man-management, handling the mentality of people and all the things that are going on away from the pitch. Lots of things affect players other than what is going on a football field - and nothing teaches you about that. It's like being a parent."
The Lions had just 16 players training on Thursday - with that figure including two goalkeepers and two youngsters out on loan at other clubs. But Holt isn't one to moan and insists it will be no excuse come tomorrow afternoon.
He commented: "Our injury list isn't getting any better and at this time of year we have a few illnesses as well.
"Big Al’s (Alan Lithgow) appendix operation was not planned, and this week we've lost Lee Miller. These are variables that you can’t plan for, but that's just part of life. I remember playing when you only had one substitute to choose from, so we are spoilt for choice in comparison.
"It will make men of us, that's for sure. But we can either go toe-to-toe with them and make a game of it - or we can raise the white flag."
