Surely it can take them by surprise because of their incompetence or because they had convinced themselves that our league position meant that he would see out the rest of the season, thus not having someone lined up right away. You could have an idea three months ago and a contingency plan (not saying they did) but all of a sudden it is a different set of circumstances when it comes to availability. I personally think it's a combination of the two, mainly the incompetence. But these constant declarations of where we should be are akin to a kid in the back asking "are we there yet?", which would perhaps make more sense if we were losing but maybe take a little time to chill and appreciate the wins and wait for the process to play out