Former Bristol City head coach Dean Holden is among the bookmakers favourites to succeed Paul Warne as Rotherham United boss.
Warne left the Millers this week to take over at Derby County after six years in charge of the Yorkshire club, leading them to three promotion from League One into the Championship.
Rotherham have made an excellent start to the 2022/23 season, lying eighth in the league, one place above and level on points with Bristol City, and Warne’s exit leaves a sizeable void for the club to fill, as they, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town are on the hunt for new managers in the second tier.
Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth, the second-long serving boss in the Premier League and EFL, has been installed as the early favourite at 2/1 but given how well settled the 49-year-old is at Adams Park it may be difficult for Rotherham to bring him to the New York Stadium, albeit with Championship football on offer.
Beyond Ainsworth, Cambridge United's Mark Bonner, Paul Hurst of Grimsby Town and Miller defender Richard Wood are high up on the odds, followed by Dean Holden who is out of work following his exit at Stoke City in the wake of Michael O’Neill’s sacking.
Holden served as No2 to O’Neill and then took charge of the Potters for one game - a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers - before he too also left the bet365 Stadium in late August. The 43-year-old would fit the brief as a young, ambitious and passionate coach who has Championship experience, most of it accrued at Bristol City.
Holden was named Lee Johnson’s successor in the summer of 2020 after a protracted managerial search and although he made an encouraging start to life in the Robins dugout, a injury crisis engulfed the squad and led to a worrying slide down the league culminating in his dismissal in February 2021.
Since leaving Ashton Gate, and linking up with O’Neill, Holden has never made it a secret that he would like to get back into full-time management having been given a taste of it at City.
Speaking to the Rotherham Advertiser, chairman Tony Stewart outlined what he wanted to see in his new head coach: The first things I look for in a manager are intelligence and communication skills.
"He has to be able to communicate, not just with me but with everyone else at the club. Players come from all walks of life. You can't treat them all the same.
"He has to have experience of handling players, although not necessarily as a manager. We saw how well it worked when Paul Warne stepped up from fitness coach. I like a young manager. Why young? Because I don't like old habits. Old habits can be bad habits."
Next Rotherham manager
- Gareth Ainsworth - 2/1
- Paul Hurst - 3/1
- Mark Bonner - 4/1
- Richard Wood - 9/2
- Neil Warnock - 6/1
- Dean Holden - 8/1
- Duncan Ferguson - 12/1
- Liam Rosenior - 16/1
- Carlos Corberan - 20/1
- Darren Ferguson - 20/1
*odds via SkyBet and correct at time of publishing
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