MORTON chief executive Warren Hawke says there are some ‘solid’ candidates for the vacant manager’s position so far — with over 70 applications flooding in.

The club began the recruitment process on Monday to find Jim Duffy’s replacement, after he left the Ton on Sunday by ‘mutual consent’.

The deadline for applications is this upcoming Tuesday, and Hawke says they’ve had a huge response so far to the vacancy.

But the former Morton forward expects more to arrive, and says the club have not interviewed any candidates yet, and won’t do so until after Tuesday’s deadline.

He told the Tele: “We’ve had great interest from a number of people. We’ve got a robust list so far but we won’t be acting on anything until the closing date, which is close of play on Tuesday.

“I can assure all supporters that we will be moving as swiftly as possible to appoint a new manager thereafter, but this will be after a comprehensive search.

“We are very open to anyone applying, the idea is to have a complete recruitment process.

“We’re still expecting some people to apply, but we want to make sure we have the most comprehensive list of applicants as possible at this early stage, so we can make a fully calculated and educated decision.

“There’s been considerable interest, it was 70 previously, it has gone up but we certainly had a number of solid applicants.”

After the closing date, the club’s board will draw up a shortlist from the applications received and then look to interview the applicants as soon as possible.

Some of the managers who have been touted as frontrunners for the position, such as Livingston’s David Hopkin and Dumbarton’s Stevie Aitken, could still be involved in play-off games after Morton’s deadline for applicants.

Livi are in action on Monday and Friday in the Premiership play-off semi-final, and could progress to the final which finishes on May 20.

Likewise, the Sons are also involved in a relegation play-off semi-final at the moment, and could finish the season on May 13 if they progress past Arbroath, with Dumbarton leading after winning the first leg 2-1 on Tuesday.

But Hawke insists the club must move swiftly after the closing date for applications, to give the club the best possible chance to compete next season.

When asked if some teams or managers still having games to play this season will have an impact on Morton’s recruitment process, he said: “Not at all.

“We understand the dynamics of what is happening, but ultimately we have to look after Greenock Morton Football Club and its best interests, so that is the reason why we’re following this process.”