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Scottish Championship: Greenock Morton v Queen's Park
Venue: Cappielow, Greenock Date: Friday, 5 December Time: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC Scotland, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app
Interim Greenock Morton manager Billy Davies has warned the club's board that promotion to the Scottish Premiership too soon "could be a disaster" for the club.
Morton are without a manager after Dougie Imrie left for Raith Rovers and host Queen's Park in Friday evening's live Championship match in front of the BBC Scotland cameras.
Davies, 61, has ruled out taking the job himself but will take the reins again having successfully navigated Morton's progress to the Scottish Cup fourth round last weekend with a penalty shoot-out victory over Peterhead.
But his previous experience in taking Derby County to England's Premier League in 2007 looms large in his thinking when it comes to his full-time role as Morton's technical manager.
"My advice to the board was they cannot do a Derby County and should not want to do a Derby County," says Davies.
Derby were promoted via the play-offs to the top tier of English football, but the Rams struggled and Davies lost his job in November with the side bottom of the table. Academy boss – and recently departed Rangers sporting director - Kevin Thelwell was put in interim charge.
"That was a three-year plan – year one mid-table, year two was top 10 and year three was promotion," said Davies, who explained he had "done it after 11 months and the club wasn't ready".
"Not only on the field but also off the field," he explained. "It is very similar to Morton. I have said to the board quite clearly, this should be a two-year project.
"We should try and compete if we can up at the top four or around the top four. The club is not structured properly at the minute to go into the Premiership. There is a lot of work to be done off the pitch as well as on the pitch.
"I feel it would be much, much better for the club to go and plan and prepare properly [and] make sure we are ready to bring the Rangers and the Celtics and the Aberdeens and the Hibs and the Hearts to Cappielow."
Morton take on Queen's Park with both sides in the bottom half of the table.
However, a victory for Morton would move them to within two points of the Premiership promotion play-off places.
"We want to make sure that if and when we get to the Premiership we want to be able to stay in the Premiership," says Davies.
"It's OK getting to the English Premier League in 11 months and everything is great, but if you are not structured properly, you have not got the right set-up and you have not got the right things in place then you chase your tail from day one and it could be a disaster."
The club are currently sifting through applicants 'from all over the world' for the vacant managerial position, all of whom will hope to forge a successful future for the club in the months and years ahead.
Davies was still a player the last time Morton played in the top flight of Scottish football.
The club were relegated from the Premier Division in 1988 and the former Rangers midfielder believes investment in infrastructure is also needed before the club can truly entertain thoughts about a return to the top flight.
"[The board] are looking at some outside investment and they will be looking to that side of the club as well," says Davies.
"It is the oldest stadium in Scottish football, and if you look at the facilities within you can see why it is the oldest stadium in Scottish football. And that's no disrespect, that is just a fact of where we are.
"This club has to realise – and they certainly do – that this two-year project is very, very important. We have got a lot of work to do with players, a lot of development with staff, a lot of development to do with facilities and more importantly we have got to make sure that every department in the club is very well equipped to handle bringing the big boys to town."
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