Gary Rowett: Millwall appoint former Stoke boss as new manager

Gary Rowett's first game in charge will be Saturday at home to his former club Stoke City

Championship club Millwall have named Gary Rowett as their new manager.

The 45-year-old former Burton Albion, Birmingham City, Derby County and Stoke City boss succeeds Neil Harris, who resigned on 3 October.

Adam Barrett - who had been caretaker boss - will stay on as first-team coach while Callum Davidson and Joe Carnall, who worked with Rowett at Stoke, again form part of his backroom team.

Rowett takes over with Millwall 17th in the table, five points clear of danger.

He was one of three candidates, along with Barrett and Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth, who Millwall assessed for the managerial vacancy created by Harris' departure after four years in charge.

Millwall's next game is at home to Cardiff City on Tuesday, but Rowett's first game in charge will be on Saturday when his former side Stoke visit The Den.

Other than media work, Rowett has not had a job since being sacked by Stoke after fewer than eight months in charge in January when they were 14th in the Championship, eight points off a play-off place.

Rowett's managerial CV

The former Cambridge United, Everton, Blackpool, Derby, Birmingham, Leicester City, Charlton Athletic and Burton right-back made 444 appearances in a 19-year professional career.

His debut for Cambridge as a 17-year-old teenager was against Millwall at the old Den, where he scored the winner in a 2-1 victory in September 1991.

After taking his first job as a manager at Burton in 2012, Rowett left to return to Birmingham as manager in October 2014, taking over with Blues 23rd in the second tier.

Rowett led City to 10th place that season, which is where they finished the following campaign too, 11 points off the play-offs.

But, with his team in 7th, out of the play-off zone only on goal difference, and after being linked to vacancies at QPR and Fulham, he was then sacked in December 2016 and replaced by Gianfranco Zola.

Three months later he was named manager of Derby, who he took to the Championship play-offs in 2018 before resigning to join Stoke.