Niall Currie has jumped to the defence of Portadown boss Matthew Tipton by insisting: "Give him time to deliver."
Currie's Carrick Rangers ended the Ports' season with Tuesday night's playoff win at Taylor's Avenue.
Portadown's dreams of returning to the Premiership were crushed by the 2-0 defeat , consigning the Mid-Ulster club to another season in the Championship ranks.
Ironically, it was Tipton who stepped up to the Shamrock Park helm back in February last year following the sacking of Currie.
The Carrick boss admitted Tuesday night's win over his former employers was a bitter-sweet moment.
"It was a big win and a very proud night, but it doesn't give me any pleasure beating Portadown or hurting them in any way," he said.
"Me and Matty (Tipton) would be one of the closest relationships we have in the league in regards to management.
"Matty is like anyone, he needs time. I have said that for a long time. If you give him time, he will get it right."
Carrick are now preparing for a two-legged playoff with Ards to see who will play in the Premiership next season.
Currie added: "I think we more than deserved our win over Portadown. And I think we earned our place in this playoff against Ards.
"We finished second in the table, 13 points ahead of Portadown. Some people wondered why there was a pre-playoff game in the first place, but it was what it was.
"I don't think anyone could begrudge Carrick their shot at promotion, and now we are preparing for two tough games against Ards."
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
