Millwall are set to sack manager Joe Edwards after just four months in charge of the club and have already lined up his replacement, according to the latest reports.
Edwards was announced as the new manager in November of 2023, replacing former boss Gary Rowett, but has won just four games since. The recent run of seven defeats in eight games has prompted a change by the owners, with the 37-year-old set to depart. In total, he spent 19 games in charge.
The club have already decided on his successor, with former manager Neil Harris set to return, taking David Livermore with him as an assistant. Talks are underway with Cambridge United to bring him back to The Den, according to a report from John Percy in The Telegraph.
Harris spent four years at Millwall, leaving in October 2019 after 245 matches in charge. The Cambridge boss had a point-per-game record of 1.52 at The Den, as per Transfermarkt, the best of his career.
This role with the Lions was Edwards’ first in professional football as a head coach, having previously spent time as an assistant manager at Chelsea and England’s U20s. He worked under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, as well as Thomas Tuchel, helping the Blues to win the Champions League in 2021.
Millwall currently sit 21st in the Championship table, one point above Queens Park Rangers in the relegation zone. They face a trip away to Russell Martin’s Southampton on Saturday. It’s currently unknown whether Harris will be in the dugout for that game.
Writer’s View
Edwards is a highly-rated coach and has done impressive things as part of the backroom staff at Chelsea under Tuchel and Lampard, but the hurdles at Millwall seem to have come a step too soon for him. The results haven’t been good enough and, as Wayne Rooney recently found out at Birmingham City, it doesn’t matter how long you’re in the job, or how short for that matter, if the results aren’t coming, you are always at risk of being moved on.
It will be a learning curve for a very young manager who can use this as leverage to bounce back. The club are getting back an experienced manager with Harris, who they will be hoping can steer them towards safety in the coming weeks, with the threat of relegation currently looming large.
