Ex-Newcastle boss expressed interest in Rotherham job

Former Newcastle manager Steve McClaren contacted Rotherham about the vacant managerial position - but he is unlikely to be the Millers' new manager.
Steve McClarenSteve McClaren
Steve McClaren

The 55-year-old, sacked by the Magpies in March after an ill-fated tenure at St James’s Park, is keen to get back into work and surprisingly mooted a possible interest in the Sky Bet Championship Millers.

But that contact is not expected to develop into anything stronger.

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McClaren, who would have been the Millers’ most high-profile manager since Emlyn Hughes in the 1980s had he ended up in the New York Stadium dugout, will now wait for another opportunity to come up as he aims to repair a reputation that was badly damaged during his nine-month stay on Tyneside.

He was in charge for just 28 Barclays Premier League games.

Rotherham are looking for a third manager in seven months after Neil Warnock U-turned on an extension to his short-term deal last week and are beginning the interview process this week.

Former Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer, who played for the Millers between 1995 and 1997, is in contention and is likely to be one of those vetted later in the week when he returns from his UEFA Pro License coaching course.

Bowyer ticks plenty of chairman Tony Stewart’s boxes, most pertinently a strong knowledge of the Championship and working to a tight budget, something he did at Blackburn for two-and-a-half years.

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Stuart Gray, close to getting the job when the Millers appointed both Neil Redfearn and Warnock last season, is another name in the frame and the club are understood to have contacted the former Sheffield Wednesday manager.