Neil Harris left his role as Head Coach of Cambridge United today to return to Championship side Millwall, after the South London club approached the U’s and agreed a contractual compensation to be paid for his services.
The 46-year-old joined the League One club in December when head coach Mark Bonner was relieved of his duties after overseeing Cambridge for almost four years. This was Harris’s second managerial job this season after he was sacked by League Two Gillingham in October. He was only in charge of the U’s for 13 league games, winning five of them. His last game came in a 2-1 loss against promotion-chasers Bolton Wanderers. Fans will be disappointed his tenure at the Cledara Abbey Stadium was so short but will have some understanding due to his history with the Lions.
Cambridge sit in 17th place in League One just six points off the bottom four. With the side looking for their third head coach this season it might be a nerve wracking few months coming up for fans. It will be annoying for the club to have to look for a new man at the helm especially at the tail end of the season and with vital games coming up. They face rivals Peterborough United this weekend in the Cambridgeshire derby where assistant head coach Barry Corr will take charge for the interim.
The bottom three clubs in League One are all on a poor run of form at the moment and look destined for League Two, so that just leaves one more spot for a place in the relegation zone. The U’s should fancy their chances of survival this campaign and as long as they pick up points where they can from now until May they will be more than fine.
The question remains though about who the League One side will choose to replace their head coach. One name that could be one to watch is former Millwall manager Gary Rowett. Rowett started his playing career at Cambridge and has been out of a job since October. If it was to be the 49-year-old who they chose, it would be a phenomenal appointment and one that would likely progress the club dramatically.
The U’s only avoided relegation last campaign by one point and fans will hope that this season ends more comfortably for them. They will need to improve their scoring records though if they are to achieve another season at this level. None of their players have reach double figures for goals scored and that is not good enough considering that it is well over halfway through the season. Lyle Taylor is the man that Cambridge can rely on over the next few months to get them over the line. Since signing in January until the end of the season he has scored three times in eight games, also picking up two assists. Fans will be disappointed however that the striker is going to miss the next three games due to suspension for his red card against Bolton and that could make the next couple of matches a whole lot tougher as a result.
