Jackett could be required to help lift Millers out of trouble
FORMER Wolves and Millwall manager Kenny Jackett is in pole position to succeed axed Alan Stubbs at the Championship’s bottom club Rotherham United.
The Millers made Stubbs their shortest-serving manager in the club’s history on Wednesday when they fired him after a run of six successive defeats.
A 4-2 defeat at Birmingham City on Tuesday night seemed to be the final straw, with the South Yorkshire now six points adrift of their nearest rivals.
And they are acting fast in terms of finding a replacement with it understood that they are lining up Jackett, with talks already taking place.
He could even be in the hotseat ahead of tomorrow’s visit from Reading, with chairman Tony Stewart determined to make a quick appointment in the hope it can spare his side the drop, an outcome that has been predecited by many this season, even before Stubbs’s removal.
Jackett has been out of work since leaving Molineux in the summer following a takeover of the West Midlands club and has also held jobs at Millwall, Swansea and Watford.
If Jackett does get the nod he will become the fifth manager in the last 14 months at the New York Stadium and will face a tough task in leading the Millers to safety after a dreadful start saw them pick up just one win in 13 games under Stubbs.
Fitness coach Paul Warne, assisted by goalkeeping coach Andy Dibble, took training yesterdayday and will manage the team tomorrow if no appointment is made.
Stubbs lasted just 14 games in total following his June appointment after making the move from Hibernian, but was undermined by shocking results on the pitch, with the quality of defending particularly worrying.
He lost 10 games, conceding 37 times, while losing all seven of the club’s away matches.