Matt Taylor: Rotherham United set to appoint Exeter City boss as new manager

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Matt TaylorImage source, Rex Features
Image caption,

Matt Taylor led Exeter City to second place in League Two last season

Championship side Rotherham United are set to appoint Exeter City boss Matt Taylor as their new manager.

Exeter City Supporters' Trust, which owns the club, said in a tweet that Taylor's tenure at St James Park is over. The tweet has since been deleted.

Talks over the move are still ongoing, with Exeter cancelling a planned press conference on Monday at 16:00 BST.

However, BBC Sport understands the two clubs have agreed a compensation package and the switch will go ahead.

"We can confirm manager Matt Taylor has left to join Rotherham United," the Trust's now-deleted statement said.

"We'd like to put on record our sincere thanks to Matt for his committed and outstanding achievements at Exeter City."

The Millers have been looking for a new manager since Paul Warne left to take over at City's League One rivals Derby County last month.

Image source, Twitter.com/ECFCST

In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Taylor said he had not received any approach from Rotherham.

But after his side's 2-2 draw with Bristol Rovers on Saturday, Taylor revealed he had since been offered the job by the Championship side.

Taylor, 40, succeeded Paul Tisdale as Exeter manager in June 2018 and led the club to the 2020 League Two play-off final, where they lost 4-0 to Northampton Town.

But last season he got the Grecians up with a second-placed finish in League Two - a feat which earned him the division's manager of the year award.

This season, despite a much smaller budget than many other clubs in the third tier, Exeter have had a good start, with four wins and four losses in their first 11 games seeing them 11th in League One.

"We've had a fantastic period of time with this football club, a fantastic group of players," Taylor told BBC Radio Devon after his side's draw with Bristol Rovers.

"I've certainly done a lot for this football club. I'm incredibly proud of what I've achieved alongside a lot of people at this football club, which is why it's going to be a difficult decision.

"It's a level we all want to play at and we all want to work at, so that's the attraction."

Taylor departure 'not unexpected'- analysis

Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport

Matt Taylor's probable departure is not unexpected in Exeter - he has been linked to more and more roles as his reputation has grown after building a Grecians side that won promotion from League Two last season while playing attractive football.

Rotherham have got themselves a manager who likes to play a passing style with three central defenders and attacking wing-backs, and one who is able to improve players - just look at the likes of Jevani Brown, Sam Nombe and Josh Key at Exeter.

At City he has guided a squad brought together on a fraction of the budget of other sides in League One to a comfortable mid-table spot, a position Millers fans would accept in the tier above come the end of the season after a number of yo-yo campaigns.

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