Millwall appoint former Stoke City boss Gary Rowett

GARY ROWETT says he can’t wait to get started working at a passionate club with a great history after being appointed Millwall's new manager tonight.

The Lions are currently in seventeenth-place in the Championship table, having collected three wins and five draws from their 12 league outings and are five points clear of the relegation zone.

“Incredibly exciting,” former Stoke City boss Rowett said in an interview on www.millwallfc.co.uk.

“For eight months out of the game watching games go off on a Saturday and just feeling that buzz again really and being desperate to be back and then getting an opportunity at a club like this, a really, really passionate club with a great history, for me that’s what it’s all about. I just can’t wait to get started.”

A club statement said: “Gary Rowett joins The Lions with a wealth of management experience at Championship level and arrives at The Den alongside new assistant Callum Davidson and technical coach Joe Carnall, while Adam Barrett will remain a key part of the first-team coaching set-up. Barrett, who has overseen Millwall’s last two matches, will be in charge for Tuesday’s visit of Cardiff City, with Rowett set to observe from the stands.

“Dan McLoone, Alex Aldridge, Laurence Bloom and Paul Tanner, who head up the analysis, recruitment, sports science and medical departments respectively, will remain in post and continue to be integral in the club’s day-to-day football operations.”

Beginning his managerial career with Burton Albion in 2012 following an initial caretaker spell in charge, Rowett guided The Brewers to successive play-oOff campaigns before being rewarded with an opportunity in the Championship with Birmingham City in October 2014.

A remarkable turnaround in form was masterminded in the West Midlands by Rowett, who steered the club to seventh and a potential Play-Off push in the 2016/17 season before his next appointment at Derby County.

The 45-year-old would mount a play-off campaign at Pride Park in 2017/18, boasting a win rate of over 43% as the team secured a position in the top six, before moving on to Stoke City the following summer. Rowett’s eight-month reign at Stoke brought his total Championship management experience to over four years.

As a player, Rowett made well over 400 professional appearances including spells in the Premier League with Derby County, Leicester City, Everton and Charlton Athletic. The former defender also represented Birmingham and Burton as a player, as well as Cambridge United and Blackpool.

Rowett, who takes over from Neil Harris, who stepped down on 3 October, a day after a 1-1 draw at Luton Town, will take charge of first-team affairs for the first time when The Lions host his former club Stoke City at The Den on Saturday, 26 October 2019 (15:00).

Visit Millwall’s website: www.millwallfc.co.uk