No difference of opinion, says chairman

The manager’s departure after just five games in charge has led some fans to wonder if there had been a fall-out, particularly over recruitment in the vital January transfer window.

Speaking tonight, Mr Stewart told the Advertiser that wasn’t the case and that it was out of the blue when Jackett told him after Saturday’s defeat to Leeds that he wanted to quit.

He said: "He was asked to sleep on it and we had a meeting at 10am on Sunday morning and he was resolute he wanted to hand his notice in.

“Was it a shock? Yes. Were there any clues to it? No.

“We had plans for the future and names. We had a strategy and we were going to use it, so it was unexpected.”

Now on the hunt for his sixth manager in little over a year, Mr Stewart said there will be no shortage of people wanting to take on the Championship's bottom side and expects  to have had 50 applications by Wednesday.

“We want someone who wants to do the job, is gagging to do the job,” he added. "We're fighters at Rotherham and I want fighters."

Kenny Jackett was not available for comment.

More to follow online as well online through the week, with a full analysis in Friday’s Advertiser