League One strugglers Rotherham United have appointed former Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City boss Lee Clark on a deal until the end of the season.
The 53-year-old replaces Matt Hamshaw after he was sacked on earlier on Wednesday after the Millers’ 5-0 defeat at Peterborough on Tuesday.
Clark has not managed in England since a spell with non-league Blyth Spartans came to an end in March 2020.
His most recent managerial spells have been in Sudan and Oman and he has been out of the game for four years.
The appointment is even more of a surprise given the former Newcastle and Fulham midfielder had posted on his Instagram account in December 2023 that he was retiring from football management.
He said at the time that his “total focus” was on Newcastle and his son Bobby Clark, who is on loan at Championship side Derby after coming through Liverpool’s academy.
His first game in charge of the South Yorkshire side, who are 22nd and six points adrift of safety, will be at League One leaders Lincoln City on Saturday.
Millers move on quickly
Rotherham said they had made the decision to sack Hamshaw, who had previously worked as a coach at the club under Paul Warne with “a heavy heart”.
Hamshaw was in his first role in management having taken over at his hometown team on an initial caretaker basis from Steve Evans in March 2025 before being given the job the following month.
However, they have struggled for much of the season and Tuesday’s thumping defeat left them with one win from their past nine matches.
“With the club currently six points from safety in League One, it was deemed necessary to take action to give the team the best possible opportunity of preserving our divisional status in our remaining nine games this season,” Rotherham said in a statement.
Clark, who has also managed Blackpool, Bury and Kilmarnock, is now charged with trying to help them avoid relegation back to the fourth tier after 13 years in the second and third divisions.
