40-Year-Old Among Final Rotherham United Managerial Candidates As Ex-QPR Boss Holds Talks
Leam Richardson has emerged as one of the final two contenders for the Millers vacancy, but Mark Warburton will not be their next boss…
It has been over three weeks now since Rotherham United parted company with their manager Matt Taylor, and chairman Tony Stewart’s attempts of hiring his replacement so far have proved fruitless.
Despite credible draws against Leeds United and Birmingham City in recent weeks, the Millers are in dire need of some fresh leadership as since Taylor’s exit following a 5-0 defeat against Watford last month, they are still yet to win a match.
You have to go back eight matches since their last victory, which came against Coventry at the New York Stadium, and there will be hope on the terraces that whoever comes in as manager will be able to get the squad firing.
It did look as though Rotherham were close to landing their intended target over the weekend in the form of Nathan Jones, who was spotted in the stands at St. Andrew’s watching on as United battled to a point against Birmingham, but by Monday afternoon, the Welshman had pulled out of the running for the vacancy.
That put the Rotherham hierarchy somewhat back to square one, but as the week progresses, the club look to be finally on the verge of selecting one of the remaining candidates.
Who is a candidate for the Rotherham United managerial vacancy?
Sky Sports have reported on Wednesday afternoon that they are now down to their final two candidates, and whilst one of the names is still unclear, the other of those is Leam Richardson, who has been out of work for over a year since his departure from Wigan Athletic in November 2022.
Aside from a brief six-month stint as Accrington Stanley boss 11 years ago, Richardson had been an assistant boss to Paul Cook at a number of different clubs before branching out on his own in 2020, becoming Wigan’s manager following the departure of John Sheridan.
Richardson saved the financially-troubled Latics from relegation to League Two in the 2020-21 campaign, and given the backing of the then-new Bahraini ownership of the Greater Manchester side, he led them to the League One title in the following season.
After losing just one of their first seven matches as a Championship side once more, Wigan’s form in the second tier spiralled soon after – they were ninth in the standings after 13 matches but following six losses from their next seven matches, Richardson was sacked with the club 23rd in the division.
The 44-year-old has been linked to a number of jobs since his departure from the DW Stadium, but the Rotherham vacancy could be the perfect opportunity for the Yorkshireman to get his managerial career back on track.
Which other manager have Rotherham United spoken to this week?
Another manager that Rotherham had been in talks with this week was Mark Warburton, according to the Rotherham Advertiser.
The 61-year-old was most recently a first-team coach at West Ham United under David Moyes for the 2022-23 season, but he departed over the summer with a view to getting back into a more senior position in the footballing world.
His last managerial job was at Queens Park Rangers between 2019 and 2022, which followed stints at Nottingham Forest, Rangers and Brentford, but he will not be heading to South Yorkshire.
The Rotherham Advertiser claims that despite the talks, Warburton will not be the next boss, although it’s unclear as to whether he hasn’t been offered the job or if he’s turned it down.
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