Harriers had no control over Murray exit - Lane

Kidderminster Harriers chairman Richard Lane said Adam Murray was a "wanted man" and they had "no control" over his future once Barrow triggered a clause in the 44-year-old's contract.

Lane said as "disappointing" as it was to lose Murray, especially only days after he guided the club to promotion to the National League, football "never surprises anybody".

Murray has signed a two-year contract with Barrow, who will play in the same division as Harriers next season following their relegation from League Two on the final day of the campaign, through until the end of 2027-28.

"He's a wanted man. He's done a great job for us here. We have supported him 100%," Lane told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"I understand the reasons, the financial reasons for him [and] the opportunity he has there. We will be fighting every match for survival and Barrow have got an opportunity to maybe get promoted.

"We've given him a blessing and we are where we are."

Lane said although the Bluebirds are now a non-league club, they remain part of the EFL until next month and therefore were able to trigger Murray's release.

"We try to protect every asset we have in terms of players and managers but we can't always protect them when he's a wanted man," he said.

"There's not a lot we can do about it from a contract perspective so it was a very short process.

"It's disappointing but every challenge we have had since I took over in 2019 I just feel we learn and we become stronger and we're very much looking forward to our next challenge."

The search for Murray's replacement is already under way with Harriers director of football Dean Holdsworth leading the recruitment process.

"We've been very lucky. Every manager that has left the building, we then get a flood of CVs, agents, you name it, knocking on and already I'm very, very impressed," Lane said.

"I'm flattered by the amount of people, the quality and the experience of people who want to come to this amazing club. That tells us where we are as a club."

Lane said Holdsworth will whittle potential candidates down to "one or two" with the aim of having someone in place "in the next week".

"We know what we're looking for in terms of the quality of the experience, that desire," he said.

"It has to be a fighting season for us. We need that bit of bite on the players and that manager needs to be someone who wants to work his socks off but also taking the culture of the club."

Since Murray's departure, attention has fallen on the potential futures of his assistant Stuart Watkiss as well as some of the Harriers squad.

Lane said "hopefully" former Harriers boss Watkiss will stay but added the new manager will decide who they want in their coaching team.

As for potentially losing players to Barrow, Lane said Murray had "guaranteed" him he would not try to sign anyone.

Harriers' promotion to the National League is the club's second in the last four seasons and Lane said they will do everything they can to try to avoid an immediate relegation as happened in 2023-24.

"The budget has gone up because we want to survive. If we have a few additional players, I think we'll fight. We won't be fighting for promotion - that would be a dream - but we want to be a mid-table team and we just need the right ingredients with the right budget and the right leader," Lane said.

"We know where we made our mistakes last time and it is about getting better players in using the loan system, maybe out of the EFL.

"But the focus for us is just to survive. I'm excited that we can hold our own in the National League."