Steve McClaren on bringing in a head coach at Rotherham United. And one person who it won't be
ROTHERHAM United's new head of football has “two or three” candidates on his shortlist as he seeks to begin his reign by filling the vacant hot-seat at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Former England boss Steve McClaren joined the Millers this morning in an ‘upstairs’ role and his top priority is to bring in a new head coach as part of the club's revamp of its footballing operation following their relegation to League Two.
The 65-year-old's choice will not be former Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson with whom he has worked in the past.
“Yeah, I'm not far away,” McClaren told the Advertiser this afternoon. “I know a lot of people, I've worked with a lot of people. I've got two or three people in mind.
“I need to align with the new head coach coming in. We have to have a good relationship. I've seen that relationship not be right. If that's not right, the club won't succeed, so the recruitment of a head coach is very important.”
McClaren acknowledges the pressing need to make an appointment but won't be hurried in the process.
“The time scale is the time scale,” he said. “I don't like to rush into decisions. You've have to get them right. You have to get all the information, and that's what I'm gathering. I pretty much know what I want.”
Simpson, who worked with McClaren at Derby County and Newcastle United and with the Jamaican national side, has a job in America and won't be crossing the Atlantic to come to New York.
”No,” the new man said. "Paul's a great friend of mine. He's been an assistant with me before. I'd have loved to have brought him in, but he's happy in the US working with the federation over there. He's got a World Cup coming up. You can rule him out.”
Simpson is boss of the American Under-16s squad who are preparing for the 2027 U-17s global finals in Qatar.
McClaren has extensive experience in club management and will be involved in summer signings following the departure of 14 players.
“I know what a Rotherham player should look like,” he said. ”I'm working so hard with (recruitment chief) Rob Scott. He's been brilliant, he's given me loads of information.
“I've talked to Woody (coach Richard Wood), I've talked to Ross (Burbeary, head of performance), so I have an idea of the work that has been going on.”
Outlining what the approach will be in a lower division in 2026/27, he said: “Believe you me, we will work hard. We will be honest with each other. We will set standards. In the good times and the bad times, we will be resilient.”