Nicola Sturgeon has claimed the SNP is "not in a mess" after weeks of turmoil - but simply experiencing "some growing pains".
The outgoing First Minister tried to play down the divisions that erupted following her decision to step down after eight years in charge.
Ms Sturgeon's sudden departure left the party without an obvious successor, with the battle between the three candidates becoming increasingly fractious.
Her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP chief executive, quit at the weekend after a row over claims he misled the press about falling membership numbers.
Appearing on Loose Women in her final week in post, she said: “The SNP is not in a mess. It’s going through, how can I put this, some growing pains.
"They are necessary but they’re difficult. But I’m stepping down from a party that hasn't lost an election since 2010 in Scotland.”
She added: "Usually parties go through a process like this when they’ve been kicked out by the voters. That’s not the position the SNP is in.
"I’ve won – my party, rather, has won eight elections in my eight years as leader, so we’re actually in quite a strong position.
"But I wouldn’t be standing down if I didn’t think this was the right time for some change, renewal, refresh."
In a message to her successor, she said: "The trick for my party is to do that while not throwing the baby out with the bath water, and not losing the things that have made us so successful.”
She admitted the party had "mishandled" the row over membership numbers.
SNP chiefs had denied reports the party shed more than 30,000 members since 2021. It later confirmed that this was in fact true.
Ms Sturgeon also revealed that she had been considering quitting "subconsciously" for some time.
“I remember watching the New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern make her statement and I remember thinking, ‘I wish that was me,'" she said.
The new SNP leader and First Minister will be confirmed on March 27.
