Rotherham United to hire ex-Wolves coach as manager? 'Highly regarded' claim made on 43-y/o | OneFootball

FLW's Rotherham fan pundit gives his opinion on the recent exclusive surrounding the Millers being linked with Ian Burchnall

Rotherham United are on the hunt for a new manager ahead of their first season back in League Two in 14 years.

The Millers have been on a rollercoaster ride up and down the EFL over that time, having only spent more than two seasons in the same division just once. But their return to the fourth tier has seemingly triggered a new direction at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Indeed, Rotherham have announced that former Middlesbrough, Derby County and, more recently, Jamaican national team coach Steve McClaren has joined the board as the new Head of Football, responsible for providing strategic leadership at the club.

Ultimately, that will involve choosing a new manager after the club decided against extending Lee Clark's short-term deal at the end of the season.

According to an exclusive Football League World report, the next head coach could be former Forest Green Rovers and Notts County boss, Ian Burchnall, who is currently a coach at Aberdeen.

He hasn't been a true number one since that poor run with Forest Green in League One, which kick-started their back-to-back relegations out of the EFL, but could the 43-year-old be the man to lead Rotherham back into the third tier?

Rotherham United fan pundit gives his verdict on Ian Burchnall links

Burchnall, to many, is a bit of an enigma in the dugout, despite his experience.

His time in England has seen him fall short in the National League play-offs with Notts, but his Magpies sides were credited for the football they played, while at Forest Green, he was fighting an uphill battle with a small fish in a big pond in the third tier.

Tom Eyre, FLW's Rotherham fan pundit, doesn't know what to make of the links, but feels that his pedigree as an assistant at the likes of Wolves and Anderlecht since his sacking at the New Lawn would make him an okay candidate for the job.

"To be completely honest, I don't really know a lot about Ian Burchnall," Eyre admitted to FLW. "I know he helped Notts County to the National League play-offs, which they lost, but he kind of sent them on their way to the style of football that they play to this day.

"He's highly regarded as an assistant across the divisions, and I guess he's someone who could be pretty capable at this level.

"He obviously didn't do too well at Forest Green, but I think they were punching well above their weight anyway, given the miraculous job that Rob Edwards did there."

Regardless of whether Eyre feels that Burchnall is the right fit or not, it all depends on whether Steve McClaren believes it to be the right choice, which the fan pundit acknowledged.

"It all depends on who McClaren wants, that's the direction that the club is currently going in," Eyre added.

"If he's the man that McClaren wants at the helm, then that's who the Rotherham fans are due to expect there."

With the amount of experience that the 65-year-old has in the dugout, you'd expect that McClaren would be able to identify the right man to stop the rot at the New York Stadium and orchestrate an immediate bounce back to League One.

The new head of football has recent relations with the linked manager, having had Burchnall as one of his assistants while he was the Jamaican head coach. Whether that proved enough to warrant working under him as the Rotherham number one still remains to be seen.

Rotherham United's immediate future would be uncertain with Ian Burchnall in charge

It can often be exciting when someone who has spent a few years as an assistant takes the reins as the number one, but in Rotherham's case, they may prefer someone a little more seasoned who they know what they will get with.

It's incredibly difficult for relegated League One sides to quickly stabilise themselves, stop the rot and get back up into promotion contention.

This past season, Cambridge United managed it and ultimately secured immediate automatic promotion, but the other three former third-tier sides all finished in the bottom half, two of which finished in the bottom six.

Burchnall would be a bit of a risk, given that it's unclear what style of play he will bring to the New York Stadium. If it's anything like what he had Notts County playing, it could be praised, but the opposite would ring true if it was similar to his time at Forest Green.

Or perhaps it will be completely different to that, with him being out of the limelight for over three years.

It's a risk that could pay off, there's no doubt about it, but if it doesn't, Rotherham fans would grow restless very quickly.