diff --git a/pkg/plugins/ifaces.go b/pkg/plugins/ifaces.go
index 92dc7565390..062cf8e9e95 100644
--- a/pkg/plugins/ifaces.go
+++ b/pkg/plugins/ifaces.go
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ type RendererManager interface {
 	Renderer() *Plugin
 }
 
-type SecretsManagerManager interface {
+type SecretsPluginManager interface {
 	// SecretsManager returns a secretsmanager plugin
 	SecretsManager() *Plugin
 }
diff --git a/pkg/plugins/manager/manager.go b/pkg/plugins/manager/manager.go
index 099d49d0c6a..f8c631655a1 100644
--- a/pkg/plugins/manager/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/plugins/manager/manager.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ var _ plugins.Client = (*PluginManager)(nil)
 var _ plugins.Store = (*PluginManager)(nil)
 var _ plugins.StaticRouteResolver = (*PluginManager)(nil)
 var _ plugins.RendererManager = (*PluginManager)(nil)
-var _ plugins.SecretsManagerManager = (*PluginManager)(nil)
+var _ plugins.SecretsPluginManager = (*PluginManager)(nil)
 
 type PluginManager struct {
 	cfg             *plugins.Cfg
diff --git a/pkg/server/wire.go b/pkg/server/wire.go
index a08cf86c00c..39c9ed81824 100644
--- a/pkg/server/wire.go
+++ b/pkg/server/wire.go
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ var wireBasicSet = wire.NewSet(
 	wire.Bind(new(plugins.DashboardFileStore), new(*manager.PluginManager)),
 	wire.Bind(new(plugins.StaticRouteResolver), new(*manager.PluginManager)),
 	wire.Bind(new(plugins.RendererManager), new(*manager.PluginManager)),
-	wire.Bind(new(plugins.SecretsManagerManager), new(*manager.PluginManager)),
+	wire.Bind(new(plugins.SecretsPluginManager), new(*manager.PluginManager)),
 	coreplugin.ProvideCoreRegistry,
 	loader.ProvideService,
 	wire.Bind(new(loader.Service), new(*loader.Loader)),
diff --git a/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/kvstore.go b/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/kvstore.go
index 61ad411591d..d314ea4d909 100644
--- a/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/kvstore.go
+++ b/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/kvstore.go
@@ -16,14 +16,19 @@ const (
 func ProvideService(sqlStore sqlstore.Store, secretsService secrets.Service, remoteCheck UseRemoteSecretsPluginCheck) SecretsKVStore {
 	logger := log.New("secrets.kvstore")
 	if remoteCheck.ShouldUseRemoteSecretsPlugin() {
-		logger.Info("secrets kvstore is using a remote plugin for secrets management")
-		return &secretsKVStorePlugin{
-			secretsPlugin:  remoteCheck.GetManager().SecretsManager().SecretsManager,
-			secretsService: secretsService,
-			log:            logger,
+		logger.Debug("secrets kvstore is using a remote plugin for secrets management")
+		secretsPlugin, err := remoteCheck.GetPlugin()
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("plugin client was nil, falling back to SQL implementation")
+		} else {
+			return &secretsKVStorePlugin{
+				secretsPlugin:  secretsPlugin,
+				secretsService: secretsService,
+				log:            logger,
+			}
 		}
 	}
-	logger.Info("secrets kvstore is using the default (SQL) implementation for secrets management")
+	logger.Debug("secrets kvstore is using the default (SQL) implementation for secrets management")
 	return &secretsKVStoreSQL{
 		sqlStore:       sqlStore,
 		secretsService: secretsService,
diff --git a/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/remote_plugin_check.go b/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/remote_plugin_check.go
index f290dac3eea..657f705d0b0 100644
--- a/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/remote_plugin_check.go
+++ b/pkg/services/secrets/kvstore/remote_plugin_check.go
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 package kvstore
 
 import (
-	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/plugins/manager"
+	"github.com/grafana/grafana/pkg/plugins/backendplugin/secretsmanagerplugin"
 )
 
 type UseRemoteSecretsPluginCheck interface {
 	ShouldUseRemoteSecretsPlugin() bool
-	GetManager() *manager.PluginManager
+	GetPlugin() (secretsmanagerplugin.SecretsManagerPlugin, error)
 }
 
 type OSSRemoteSecretsPluginCheck struct {
@@ -21,6 +21,6 @@ func (c *OSSRemoteSecretsPluginCheck) ShouldUseRemoteSecretsPlugin() bool {
 	return false
 }
 
-func (c *OSSRemoteSecretsPluginCheck) GetManager() *manager.PluginManager {
-	return nil
+func (c *OSSRemoteSecretsPluginCheck) GetPlugin() (secretsmanagerplugin.SecretsManagerPlugin, error) {
+	return nil, nil
 }