Plunged into the limelight following his appointment as caretaker boss, CHRIS SUMPTER chats to Tony Daws about why the latest string to his Iron bow will only be a temporary one.

WHEN Tony Daws' phone rang at 8.20am yesterday morning – and he saw the call was from Steve Wharton – he jokingly thought he might be getting the bullet.

The reality was not that far from the truth on a day that started out like any other, but quickly turned into one not witnessed for more than 14 years at Glanford Park.

Daws may not have been axed. The same though cannot be said of the fledgling management team of which he was an integral part during seven months together at Scunthorpe United.

Having seen manager Ian Baraclough, assistant boss Kevin Pressman and first-team coach Steve Parkin all relieved of their duties on the back of Tuesday night's embarrassing 3-0 defeat by bottom club Preston, Daws is the man the Iron have turned to, in the short term, to offer renewed hope in what now looks to be a losing battle for Championship survival.

That means, having been one of the lowest names on the list of the coaching set-up when it comes to having had contact with the Iron first team, the Yorkshireman is now at the top.

'Caretaker' is quite an ironic tag for Daws.

Reserve team boss for the past five years, head of youth for six – duties he will maintain alongside his new role – painting the dressing rooms and sweeping the terraces are about the only jobs the 44-year-old has not fulfilled at United, on the back of six memorable years as a player too.

Despite the increase in workload, it is a job he will fulfil to the best of his ability. The Iron are, after all, his club.

"I hadn't heard the news (of Baraclough's exit), but I'd got an inkling about what had happened when the phone rang," Daws told the Telegraph, hours before taking charge of Scunthorpe's 2-0 reserve victory over Middlesbrough last night.

"I'd heard something on the radio that suggested something might be happening.

"I had a conversation with the chairman and he asked me what I felt about taking over as caretaker and I said if the board wanted me to do that, I was happy to help out.

"We had the reserves' game last night and obviously I'm still running the youth team. I think it's going to be quite a hectic time, the next few days, but I'm prepared for that.

"What we need as a club is a period of stability. We need to pull the players together and say this where we are, in a relegation scrap, and find out who is up for it.

"I see every home game, so I'm aware of the players and of course numerous ones have played in the reserves.

"It's been a whirlwind, so I haven't had chance to speak to the players.

"I've had meetings with the staff, Lee Turnbull (his temporary assistant), Alex Dalton (physio) and one or two others, like Dave Beeby (general manager). Yesterday was hectic."

To listen to an audio interview with Daws, shortly after he was appointed the Iron's caretaker manager, click on the audio player below.

For an in-depth reaction to Baraclough's departure, featuring fans' views, bookies' odds for his successor and Tony Daws' thoughts on why the Iron are in their current predicament, see Thursday's Scunthorpe Telegraph.