HARRIERS chairman Mark Serrell called on the fans to get behind new boss Andy Thorn.

Supporters are still coming to terms with the surprise sacking of Steve Burr on Tuesday.

Ex-Coventry manager Thorn was handed the Aggborough hot-seat 24 hours later.

Thorn met with Harriers’ players this morning ahead of Saturday’s Skrill Premier home clash against Salisbury City (3pm ko).

Kidderminster then face their biggest game of the season at London Road in Tuesday’s replay against Peterborough, with Premier League Sunderland awaiting the winners in round four.

“I am a businessman and after Forest Green affair I decided to look into possibilities for the future and Andy is someone I came into contact with,”said Serrell.

“He’s got great experience as a coach and scout and when I spoke to him I was blown away by his approach and attitude.

“People talk about what happened at Coventry but he was at the helm during one of the club’s most difficult periods.

“He’s got fantastic experience as an FA Cup winner and a player at the highest level, he is very highly regarded in football.”

The FA Cup winning former Wimbledon defender was previously in charge at the Sky Blues, nearly saving them from relegation in the Championship.

He was given the job permanently at The Ricoh Arena but was sacked at the start of the 2012-13 season after a poor start in League One.

Burr, who was contracted at Harriers until 2016, is now in talks with the club about his severance pay.

Serrell also defended the board's decision to relieve the popular manager of his duties.

During his four year reign, Burr guided the Carpetmen to two sixth-place finishes and second in the table last season, when they were pipped to League One Football by Mansfield Town.

Harriers also played in the promotion play-offs for the first time in their history but lost over two legs to Wrexham.

The chairman said: “The board made a unanimous decision to remove Steve.

“It wasn’t an easy decision but sometimes you have to make tough choices.

“But we are ambitious at Harriers and want to get into the Football League this season.

“It’s a gamble and people won’t know if it has paid off until the end of the season.”

The chairman also admitted the board lost confidence in Burr after he held talks with Forest Green Rovers over the vacancy at The New Lawn in November.

Burr stayed on at Harriers but their league form suffered a dip, culminating in the 6-0 loss at Luton Town.

But his exit came only days after they had held League One Peterborough to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup Third Round.

Serrell said: “If you look at the results before Steve spoke to Forest Green and the results after they speak for themselves.

“Last season our aim was to make the play-offs but this season we want to win promotion to the Football League."

The chairman also denied that former Evesham United boss Paul West had become involved in the coaching set up.