The timing of John Sullivan's decision to end his Athlone Town women's managerial tenure was a "real shock", according to Shelbourne's Rachel Graham.
But she believes the evidence from last year suggests the reigning double winners' squad will be able to cope with the upheaval in the short-term.
On Thursday, the club confirmed that Sullivan had opted to resign his role after just one round of games in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division.
Sullivan subsequently released his own statement on Instagram in which he said he was "devastated" to leave the club and backed the leaders within the playing group to take the team forwards.
In regard to his decision to resign, he wrote that "there were some things that my values just didn't align with".
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Shels midfielder Graham said Sullivan's decision to step aside when the campaign had barely started caught her and many others around the league by surprise.
"It was a big shock to be honest, I really didn't see it coming," she said.
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"Obviously it's only one game in so you can't imagine it's based on anything to do with results or performances or anything like that.
"It was a real shock. The statement from the club didn't give too much away either, so it's hard to know and John put his own post on social media just mentioning it was to do with his values not aligning with the club's values. So again pretty vague.
"It's obviously not ideal timing now for Athlone one game into the new season. They've obviously been through it before with Colin Fortune."
Last September, Sullivan's predecessor Fortune had abruptly left his managerial role at a time when the club was well placed in all competitions.
Sullivan stepped up from the position of assistant to see out the season in an interim role, guiding Athlone to the league and cup double.
He subsequently signed a two-year contract to remain as manager in October and had spoken in optimistic tones about the ambitions for this season.
As Graham pointed out, despite the upheaval following Fortune's exit, the Athlone players who largely still remain the core of the 2026 squad, had proven that they could weather any storm.
Indeed, on Saturday they earned a 1-0 win over DLR Waves just two days after Sullivan's departure was announced.
"They've been through it before, they dealt with it really well, so it will be interesting now to see who does go in," she said.
"I think we'll probably see a decision quick enough because I don't think Athlone have too much time to waste with this one."
Among the early names linked with the vacancy is former Republic of Ireland forward Stephanie Zambra.
The former Puskas Award runner-up did gain experience as a head coach while in interim charge of Shamrock Rovers in the latter part of last season.
But ultimately, Zambra missed out on the permanent role at Tallaght Stadium.
"She probably got a taste for it and a bug for (management)," Graham said.
"I think it's great to see our ex-female players, our Irish internationals coming back into the league.
"So I think they'll definitely consider her. It's just whether it's right for Steph or not and whether it's right for the club or not.
"She'll definitely be a name and it's good to see the likes of her getting thrown around now in the talks of managers coming into clubs."
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