Exclusive: Rotherham United plot move for ex-Notts County manager | OneFootball

Steve McClaren will look towards a familiar face to succeed Lee Clark in the Millers dugout

Rotherham United are set to run differently ahead of the 2026-27 season, with ex-England manager Steve McClaren arriving as their new 'Head of Football', and he's eyeing up a new head coach for the South Yorkshire outfit, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The 2025-26 campaign was an abject failure for the Millers, who have now dropped into League Two for the first time since 2013, with Matt Hamshaw unable to get a tune out of his squad, and then Lee Clark failing to pick up the results required for survival after he was a late-season replacement in the dugout.

And despite being in potential takeover talks with a Swiss consortium, Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart has made an eye-catching appointment of McClaren to assist the running of United from the very top, where he will provide 'strategic leadership' to all parts of the club.

Rotherham United eyeing Aberdeen assistant coach for managerial vacancy

One of McClaren's first tasks is going to be to help find a new boss for the fourth tier outfit, and FLW understands that Rotherham have their eyes set on Aberdeen coach Ian Burchnall, who is the leading contender for the job.

Burchnall is in pole position for the Millers vacancy, according to FLW's sources, and he's incredibly well-known to McClaren, having worked with the 65-year-old when he was recently in charge of Jamaica's national team as an assistant manager.

The holder of a UEFA Pro License, which is the highest football coaching certification in Europe, Burchnall holds a second-in-command role at Aberdeen too under Stephen Robinson, but it has already been announced that he is leaving Pittodrie.

The 43-year-old could now jump straight into the managerial vacancy at Rotherham, left behind by the aforementioned Clark after his short-term deal came to an end, and he has already got back into work by landing the gig at National League outfit Hartlepool United.

Burchnall is no stranger to management, having jumped into his first gig at Norwegian club Viking FK in 2016, after previously being an assistant both there and at Sarpsborg, where he worked under former Premier League striker Brian Deane.

As well as also managing Ostersunds in Sweden and also Forest Green Rovers, Burchnall has held the manager's role at Notts County, having taken over at Meadow Lane in March 2021.

In his 14 months in charge of the Magpies, Burchnall was unable to take the club back to the EFL from the National League, but he did win 31 of his 60 regular season games in charge, with a win percentage of over 50 per cent, before jumping ship to replace Rob Edwards at Forest Green - who were then a League One club.