First day for interim team as Rotherham United manager hunt goes on

After being off for the first week of the international break, the Millers players returned to Roundwood this morning to begin preparations for next Friday's Championship visit of Leeds United.

The squad were put through their paces by assistant boss Wayne Carlisle and coaches Scott Brown and Dan Green who have been asked to take temporary control following last Monday's sacking of manager Matt Taylor.

The drop-zone Millers are on the hunt for a new leader, although no appointment is expected before third-placed Leeds come calling at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Head of recruitment Rob Scott is drawing up a shortlist of candidates and interviews are expected to follow.

"We have been complimented by a high calibre of managers applying for the job," chairman Tony Stewart said. "We have had a sackful get in touch. There’s some talent in there."

Rotherham parted company with Taylor after their mission to repeat last season's second-tier survival feat had been compromised by a run of seven losses in eight away matches.

There are 30 matches left and part of Stewart's thinking was that he wanted to give a new boss plenty of time in which to engineer a recovery.

"We left it late one year and there were 16 games to go," he said. "We had to rely on Neil Warnock."

Stewart was referring to the 2016 Great Escape when the Millers climbed out of the Championship's bottom spot after turning to the veteran boss for the last three months of the season.

Warnock pulled off a similar safety mission with Huddersfield Town last term and is between jobs but has ruled himself out of the running for a return to New York.

Rotherham are seeking someone with Championship experience and the names of former Millwall boss Gary Rowett and Leam Richardson, once of Wigan Athletic, are believed to have featured in discussions among the club's senior figures.