Lee Clark delivers his verdict on Rotherham United supporters
LEE Clark paid an emotional tribute to Rotherham United fans in what could turn out to be his final interview in the Millers hot-seat.
The Geordie, who is waiting to hear if he will be allowed to continue as manager, lost his mother-in-law during his nine-game stay in South Yorkshire that came to an end with yesterday's last-day League One clash at Wycombe Wanderers.
He intimated that he has been encouraged to believe that he would be offered the job permanently, but his short-term contract has expired and he has yet to receive news from chairman Tony Stewart.
He said of the club's followers: "Their support has been unbelievably special. It's not just the support they have shown me as the manager, it's also the support they've shown me and my family during a really tough period. It has been phenomenal.
"I'd love to be the manager of this club. But if that isn't to be, the fans will always be special to me and this club will always be special to me."
The Geordie had drawn up retained and released lists and been engaged in planning for pre-season, thinking that he would be remaining at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
He claims he has also spoken with two of this season's leading bosses in League Two - included former Rotherham chief Paul Warne - in preparation for life at that level following the Millers' relegation from the third tier.
"I've been speaking to clubs who've been promoted from League Two and asking, what did they do to have that success?" he said. "I'm close with Paul at MK Dons and Andy Woodman at Bromley, so I've been picking their brains on stuff like that."
In terms of his pre-season preparations, he said: "You're looking at a six-week pre-season period where you've got to bed in new players, get a new system, get a new mindset, get new standards, get a new belief around the place.
"As a manager, I've always been greedy. I've wanted to have as many players in the building as soon as possible, so they can go and do a pre-season with you. You get the plans across, both tactically, technically.
Referring to Rotherham's well-documented injury issues this term, he added: "Most importantly for this club, it's about bringing in players who are physically robust. That's what the next group need to be, we must have that.
"I've been involved with pre-season planning. I've been speaking to different clubs to line up friendlies. I've been looking at potential training camps, because that's massive - creating that team spirit, that bond, and also getting the chance to work hard in a great environment while being in each other's pockets for 24 hours a day.
"You see the players' real characters coming out then because you're spending all that time with them."
The 53-year revealed the extent to which he'd already gone in readiness for the 2026/27 campaign.
"There'd been conversations for me to start planning, talking to people about what the budget would be," he said. "I've done that.
"There have also been conversations about what I would be doing with the present playing squad. You've got retained lists. You've got released lists. You've got option years on players, and you have to decide who you're going to take up on those.
"You've got the young boys coming from the academy. Young players are always important. You've seen how many we've had involved. But there's nothing I can do if I'm not the official manager. I can't officially act as Rotherham United's manager anymore because I'm actually not the manager. That's the way it is."