Barry Corr: Cambridge United interim boss says his stay will be 'short' after Mark Bonner sacking

Barry Corr (centre) says he will only be in temporary charge of Cambridge for a short time following the sacking of Mark Bonner (left)

Cambridge interim boss Barry Corr says Mark Bonner's sacking came as a "real shock" and insists he will only be in charge for a "short period of time".

Corr and Kevin Betsy have been put in temporary control following Bonner's departure as head coach on Wednesday after nearly four years at the helm.

The U's are currently 18th in League One, four points above the bottom four.

"Even though we're aware we're not in a good moment right now, there was definitely a big shock," Corr said.

The U's appointed Bonner in January 2020, at first on a temporary basis, and he only signed a new "long-term" contract in September.

Having narrowly kept Cambridge up last season, Bonner's exit was confirmed the day after their 3-0 home defeat by Lincoln that left them without a point in three games and with only one league win since September.

U's owner Paul Barry described Bonner as "one of the most important people in the history of Cambridge United".

"Bons [Bonner] phoned me on the evening just after 11 and told me the news," Corr told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"It was a short conversation because I didn't know what to say. I was really upset for him. But I guess that's the industry we work in.

"We're shocked and sad but it moves quickly and it's about preparing for the next few days."

Corr's immediate assignment is Saturday's FA Cup second round tie against fellow League One side Fleetwood Town and, although he described the past 48 hours as a "whirlwind", he says the players are "prepped well" and will "do the best job we can".

"Performances lately haven't been great and our focus will be on being the best version of ourselves," he said.

"We'll give the players lots on Fleetwood but we'll show them clips of us at our best and try to produce that on Saturday.

"There's a reward of a potential big game in the next round. The players know that and see it as a motivation."

Corr not in the running for the job

As for the future, Corr is clear on one thing: he will not be doing the job permanently having spoken to the club's sporting director Ben Strang.

"The reality is I'll be doing this for a short period of time. I can't say exactly how long that's going to be but an external candidate is going to come in," said Corr.

"I don't know what the time frame is going to be on that but the club are in the process of doing it.

"I think there's so much respect for Mark at the club so I don't think there were any conversations before what happened, happened, so they have to go into a process of finding someone to come in."

Corr says he knows the situation can be "delicate" when a new manager comes in, in terms of who their backroom staff are, but says he would "like to be part of it".

"We'll have to see what that looks like. What will be will be," he added.