Raith weighing up previous candidates for manager's job

Danny Lennon is a former Raith player and has been linked with the vacant manager's job. Picture: Jane Barlow

The Kirkcaldy club parted company with Locke late on Tuesday night after their wait for a Championship win was extended to 14 games following the 1-0 defeat by Morton.

Craig Easton, Raith’s head of youth development, has been put in charge of training today but attention could again turn to Dumbarton boss Aitken, East Fife manager Barry Smith and former Raith player Lennon ahead of Rovers’ next match, against Hibs a week on Saturday.

Aitken’s part-time Dumbarton side won 3-1 at Raith at the end of January and the 40-year-old is out of contract in the summer, with talks over a new deal still to start. Despite having an engineering job with Rolls-Royce away from football it is believed that Aitken could be tempted to take on a full-time manager’s post.

Former Dundee and Alloa manager Smith, 42, had not long returned to Scotland for family reasons after a spell at Aldershot when he spoke to Raith last summer. Since then he has enhanced his managerial credentials further by leading East Fife on an eight-game unbeaten run since being appointed their manager in December.

Lennon, pictured, who played over 150 times for Raith, was also considered for the post last summer shortly after his temporary period in charge of Airdrie came to an end. The 47-year-old has previously managed Cowdenbeath, St Mirren and Alloa as well as having a one-game stint in charge of the Scotland under-21 side.

Locke’s departure was confirmed with a brief statement on the club’s website. It read: “The board of directors of Raith Rovers FC announces that we have parted company with manager Gary Locke and assistant manager Darren Jackson, with immediate effect.”