Phil Smith and the potential for a Rotherham United takeover bid
"I think about it most weeks. I think it's inevitable, now, that the ownership will change before long.”
Local businessman Phil Smith is waiting in the wings and ready to launch a takeover bid for Rotherham United if the time is right, the Advertiser can reveal.
The man who grew up in Kimberworth and made his fortune in the financial sector is already a non-executive director of the League Two club he has supported since boyhood.
He and a group he has put together could put an offer on the table to end chairman Tony Stewart's 18-year reign, and there is talk of Christmas possibly being a pivotal period.
The 57-year-old, who has been open in the past about his interest in buying the Millers, said: "I've always said, you keep an eye on that for the circumstances being right.
"I would say the peak attractiveness to me and to colleagues of mine was when we were in League One and could and should have bounced back to the Championship. That was a good buying point in terms of an outside investor coming on board.
"Taking on a League Two club - and a League Two club near the bottom of the league ... that's a hell of a risk bet. The economics of where we are now are not great. But I would never rule it out. We're keeping a watching brief on that. I think it's going to be very crucial where we are from Christmas time."
Rotherham have enjoyed huge success since Stewart, who is now in his early 80s, rescued them from adversity.
There have been five promotions and four trips to Wembley during his tenure that has also seen the building of AESSEAL New York Stadium, but things have soured in the last three seasons as the club have slipped from the second to the fourth tier.
They lie one place above the drop zone and there is fear among fans - some of whom are backing a supporter-led online petition calling for Stewart to sell - that they could drop into the National League and lose their EFL status.
When asked by the Advertiser Smith if he was planning to make his move before the end of the year, he replied: "I think about it most weeks. I think it's inevitable, now, that the ownership will change before long. If the circumstances are right, then we're able to do it. But at the moment the circumstances aren't right."
He joined the board last season as a fresh pair of eyes who would survey how the club is run and make suggestions on improvements.
A major sponsor of the Millers, with a corporate box at New York, he is a self-made man, having founded Embark and built it into a business with more than £40 billion in assets in its portfolio before selling up and accepting a multitude of directorships in other business.
He is co-owner of Rotherham United Women who have ambitious plans to climb through the leagues and make the old Millmoor site their home as part of a £9.5-million development project.
Smith says he and Stewart have discussed the possibility of a takeover. He has huge respect for the chairman, but it may be that his relationship with some board members is less warm.
Have you and Tony discussed the possibility of you taking over?
"Conversations have always been cordial, always constructive, with Tony," he said. "Not so much with the others who are directly involved."