Short answer is I don't know Animal. And I agree credibility is an issue at the moment.There have been numerous mistakes made so far, as we know, by the management team, and I include Sormaz obviously in that. Having made mistakes, you would hope that they've learned a lot from them.
Sormaz has I believe held similar posts elsewhere and therefore must have experience qualities to obtain these positions in football. He's the one that can bring Conor on in terms of working with Conor to bring him up to speed with the workings of the transfer market etc, which I presume Conor has little experience of. Then there are the other coaches around Conor that can also feed in their experience.
If Sormaz goes, then the club can play it's part in ensuring the new DOF is someone that can provide the support Conor probably needs.
Neerav, clearly he's not going to mould Conor as a coach on the footballing side but he will have some input into ensuring the support that Conor is given is the right support and the support that even Conor himself feels he requires.
The choice of DOF, even if it is Sormaz staying on, are all decisions taken by club management and will certainly mould Conor as a coach. The support he's given, and chooses to accept, are now incredibly important for the club and not just in terms of the players signed.
Looking back at my career, there are many people that have influenced me; some positively others not so positively. But even negative influences can be turned to a positive. I credit Conor with intelligence. I look at how he listened to Wilson, Johnson etc who I would credit with making his footballing career to some extent.