Matt Hamshaw has gone but three other key staff are to remain with Rotherham United

The departed boss appointed number two Dale Tonge, goalkeeper coach Andy Warrington and coach Richard Wood early in his year-long reign that came to an end with Tuesday's night's 5-0 loss at Peterborough United.

Lee Clark has subsequently been appointed to lead the fight for League One survival during the nine-match run-in and will be helped by the trio.

“That's the plan,” said Millers chief operating officer Paul Douglas. “The remit for Lee is to work with the staff that are here and hopefully get on with them and be successful with them.”

Clark faces a baptism of fire tomorrow when he takes an injury-hit bottom-four squad to leaders Lincoln City who haven't lost in their last 21 third-tier outings.

He has spoken warmly about how welcoming Tonge, Warrington and Wood have been and says that this week has been such a whirlwind that he hasn't given any thought to the possibility of bringing in his own people.

The 53-year-old has been out of EFL management for nearly a decade and, just after parting company with Huddersfield Town, was beaten to the boss's position at AESSEAL New York Stadium in 2012 by Steve Evans.

Having done well in his first managerial post with the Terriers, the Geordie went on to win battles against relegation with Birmingham City, Kilmarnock and Bury before dropping into non-league football and then moving abroad for spells in Sudan and Oman.

Accepting that handing Clark the reins is a left-field decision, Douglas said: “I'm not going to argue with that point.

“We met Lee a number of years ago when he applied for the job. He wasn't a successful candidate at the time, but he's kept in touch with the club, he's kept in touch with the chairman.

“We felt that, in the circumstances we find ourselves in now, a change was necessary, and we wanted someone who'd got experience in those circumstances previously and somebody we knew as a person and trusted, hence why Lee is now with us.”

The COO described avoiding a return to League Two for the first time since the 2012/13 promotion campaign - a feat that led to a decade of success under owner Tony Stewart - as “very important”.

“This club has been a real beacon of esteem for the people of Rotherham,” he added. “That's largely down to Tony's being prepared to back managers, to bankroll managers and support them in transfer markets.

“He's taken that responsibility very seriously. When we've sold players, the money that's been garnered from those sales has gone straight into the squad budget over a number of years now, and that's not changed.

“We don't want to be relegated. We're in a football pyramid. You're either moving forwards or you're moving backwards, and we're trying our best not to be relegated.

“But whatever happens, it won't dim our enthusiasm to be as successful as we can be in subsequent seasons.”

Meanwhile, the Easter Monday trip to Port Vale, which has been postponed because of the home side’s involvement in the FA Cup, will now take place a day later with a 7.45pm kick-off.