A former England manager and Manchester United coach has landed a surprise new job in League Two after last being in charge of a national side
A former England manager and Manchester United coach has landed a surprise new job in League Two.
Steve McLaren is back in English football after the 65-year-old was confirmed to have joined newly-relegated Rotherham United in an attempt to turn the club’s fortunes around.
McLaren, who managed England between 2006 and 2008 – failing to qualify the Three Lions for Euro 2008, has joined the Millers as the club’s new Head of Football. One of McLaren’s crucial first jobs will be to help Rotherham appoint a new manager following the departure of Lee Clark.
The vastly experienced boss most recently took charge of Jamaica but left his post after failing to guide the Reggae Boyz to this summer’s World Cup.
McLaren reportedly has a long-standing friendship with Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart and previously discussed taking the manager’s job, but his work will start behind the scenes.
Stewart said on McLaren’s appointment: “We are thrilled to have Steve join us here at Rotherham United and we are already looking forward to the value that his unrivalled experience in football circles will add here at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
“Steve will provide the Board with a new voice and a pair of eyes and ears that have seen how clubs ensure that they reach optimal performance at both the top club level and on the international stage.
“We acknowledged that as part of our ongoing efforts to drive standards and keep the football club progressing forwards off-the-pitch that adding someone with such impressive football knowledge would be highly-beneficial at Board level and to attract someone of Steve’s calibre hopefully shows to our fans that we are determined to make positive changes following difficult years recently.
“Conversations with Steve have been ongoing for a period of time now which was by-design to ensure that both parties had a clear mutual understanding of what the role looks like and where we believe we can progress the football club to. His CV speaks for itself, but beyond that, we have been hugely impressed by his enthusiasm and desire to enact positive changes here at Rotherham United and we are delighted to have Steve on-board as we look to the future.
“As I stressed in the statement that was issued following confirmation of our relegation to League Two, we are fully-aware that action needs to be taken across a number of football-related departments, starting with the appointment of a new first team head coach.
“That same statement detailed the fact that we would carry out a full ‘post-mortem’ of the campaign just passed and Steve’s feedback will be invaluable as we look to implement measures that ensure a similar situation does not unfold again. I would like to take this opportunity to place on-record my own personal thanks to Lee Clark and Peter Leven, who not only applied themselves wholeheartedly during a tough period for the club, but have provided learnings of their own which will assist both Steve and the club in making marked improvements in key areas this summer.
“Looking at the bigger picture of the football club, Steve’s official appointment to the role of Head of Football will, without doubt, serve as the first step in what will now be a series of decisions across the footballing operation in an important summer for the club.
The former Hull City midfielder moved to Manchester United in 1999 as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant before landing his first managerial job with Middlesbrough in 2001. McLaren was named England boss in 2006, succeeding Sven Goran Eriksson after the 2006 World Cup having impressed at the Riverside.
More to follow…
This is a breaking sports story and is being constantly updated with the latest news, pictures and videos. Please refresh the page regularly.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest sports stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our sports newsletter.
Get all the very best sports news, pictures, opinion and video by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star
Follow Daily Star on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
Follow Daily Star on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @DailyStar_Sport and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see sports stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at Daily Star Football | London