Derek McInnes has said his farewells to his Kilmarnock players ahead of his expected move to Heart of Midlothian.
It's understood the the two clubs have reached an agreement for the 53-year-old to take over as manager at Tynecastle and that could be announced as soon as Monday.
Killie and Hearts actually meet on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season on Sunday and it has been agreed McInnes will not take charge of the Ayrshire men because of the awkward situation it would present.
That means the defeat to Motherwell on Wednesday night was his last game as Kilmarnock manager and he was back in on Thursday to say his goodbyes.
Youngster David Watson was given his chance in the first-team by the former Aberdeen boss and has nothing but admiration for him. And he detailed how that last meeting between McInnes and his players went.
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He said: “He was in this morning (Thursday), came and spoke to us and wished us all the best and that was it. Nothing but respect for the guy, he gave me my first start in SPFL and he's took us from the Championship to playing in Copenhagen, so I wish him all the best. He's been absolutely brilliant for us.
“He's given me my first start in SPFL, he's kind of kick started my career into what it's been so far and I'm nearly reaching my 100 game mark and most of them have been under him, so I'm nothing but thankful for him. Everybody liked him, we all got along good, we had a great togetherness within the staff and the players, but that's football, we just need to move on now and we're looking ahead to the game on Sunday.
“Nothing changes for us. We're still going into the game trying to get three points and that's always been the way of it. We spoke about it last night as well that we would be doing that, so we're well prepared for it and we've got a very good coach and an experienced coach in Chris Burke coming in.”
Defender Corrie Ndaba, a Derek McInnes signing, delivered a similar sentiment.
"He's a big reason why I came here," he admitted. A great manager, I've a lot of respect for him.
"He sets us up really well, he and all the staff have helped me so much. I can only have admiration for him and all his staff. I am just focusing on the football.
"On Sunday I'm going out to win and hopefully we can do that in front of our own fans. We want to concentrate on the next game and finish strongly. We want to leave on a high note at home."
