Leam Richardson: a good Rotherham United appointment that took too long

By the time they appointed his successor, they were bottom, with the gap to a survival spot having doubled.

Four more games had passed, 30 days.

The search for a new boss looks to have produced a worthy replacement in Leam Richardson. But it took too long.

During it, frustration among supporters fermented. There was no official word from the club, no real updates, and the man stepping up from assistant boss into temporary charge, Wayne Carlisle, was left to field media questions that he couldn't answer.

He proved himself to be a good stand-in, maintaining his dignity, doing his best in very difficult circumstances and winning the respect of fans for the manner in which he applied himself to a thankless task.

Two draws weren't bad. Two defeats, particularly a heavy one at Hull City, cost him any chance of landing the job permanently. He returned to his assistant's role on Monday with his reputation enhanced.

At press conferences, he said he'd been told nothing. In effect, he knew as much as supporters did. A bit of communication would have added a touch of much-needed calm and clarity to a troubled situation.

Taylor was fired after a 5-0 loss at Watford on November 11, paying the price for his squad's woeful away record. There was an argument for letting him go, an argument for giving him more time. He was disappointed but knew he'd given the club a case against him with no wins on the road.

The problem was, there was no real plan in place as to who came next.

The days passed as Steve Evans shone brightly in the reckoning, faded, shone brightly again and faded once more. The days passed as Nathan Jones thought about it and eventually didn't come. The days passed as Gary Rowett and Mark Warburton decided it wasn't for them.

Tony Stewart went away early in proceedings - a pre-arranged business trip, not a holiday. That wouldn't have been a problem as his people on the ground at AESSEAL New York Stadium were hard at work but an unfortunate turn of phrase on Sky Sports TV added to the unrest.

“I haven't had time to put the effort in,” was a poor soundbite. The chairman cares deeply about his club. He just said the wrong thing, and then said nothing afterwards.

Normally so accommodating with journalists, he chose to keep his own counsel as the search went on.

Eventually, it came down to Richardson, a candidate who would probably have said ‘yes’ a month ago.

November 11 to December 12 ... The Remembrance Day sacking, followed by a process everyone will be happy to forget.