Mick Halsall refused to rule himself out of the Notts County job at the club’s first press conference since the sacking of Ricardo Moniz.
The Dutchman was fired on Tuesday afternoon after a run of inconsistent performances left the Magpies sitting 15th in the League Two table.
Academy boss Halsall was immediately appointed to the job in the interim with support from under-21s coach Richard Dryden.
He told reporters at Meadow Lane on Wednesday morning the dismissal of Moniz took him by surprise.
He said: “Did I expect it? I can’t say I did. I got a phone call yesterday asking if myself and Richard would help out.
“Without any doubt I said ‘yeah’ we would because we’re part of the club and that’s who we work for and that’s what we’ll do.”
When asked if he’d be interested in the role permanently, he said: “We’ll have to see how we go won’t we?
“Let’s get off to a winning start, let’s see what we can do. You know Rich is very similar to myself; we just want to do the best we can, give the players the best opportunity to what they can.”
Moniz, 51, became County’s manager in April following the dismissal of Shaun Derry, but was unable to prevent the club suffering relegation from League One.
And chairman Ray Trew said lack of organisation in defence influenced the decision to part company with Moniz, while crediting him with injecting some flair into the side’s attacking play.
County next face third-placed Oxford at home on Saturday.
For a full report on the reign of Moniz and the search for the next Meadow Lane manager watch Notts TV news on Wednesday, December 30 at 5.30pm, 6pm, 7pm and 10pm.
