Rotherham United will not rush search for Matt Taylor's replacement after last year's experience

The news was not unexpected after fans called for the 41-year-old’s head in the 5-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, his biggest and last of a 13-month spell in charge.

An international break means the Millers are not due to play again until a week on Friday, when Leeds United visit the New York Stadium for a televised Championship game.

It will allow them to take their time landing a replacement having found the process difficult when Taylor was brought in to succeed Paul Warne in October 2022. The board are understood to have identified potential targets.

Neil Warnock, whose reputation for rescuing relegation-threatened Championship sides was enhanced by his 2016 spell at Rotherham, is out of work, as is former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, who has been linked with a return to his old club should Paul Heckingbottom lose his job. Karl Robinson, briefly Leeds United’s assistant manager last season is also available and high in the betting.

Warne moved to Derby County in September’s international break and the Millers initially thought they had persuaded Cambridge United’s Mark Bonner to replace him, only for him to change his mind and for them to turn instead to Exeter City manager Taylor.

It was no mean achievement by Taylor to end Rotherham’s yo-yo existence last season after six years of swapping between League One and the Championship each summer.

But ultimately the club’s dreadful away form caught up with him, hindered by a crippling injury list.

Rotherham only won twice on their travels under Taylor, at Stoke City when he was a fortnight into the job, and the other without leaving South Yorkshire, beating Sheffield United 1-0 with Rawmarsh-born Ben Wiles scoring on the ground his grandfather Eddie Coluqhoun played the bulk of his career. That was just over a year ago, piling huge pressure on their home form.

Coming from behind to draw at Southampton in October perhaps bought Taylor another month in the job but it remains their only point on their travels this season. It was not just the number of defeats, but the nature.

Taylor was very critical of his players after the 2-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, and going as far as to say he had lost trust in some of them was a worrying sign.

Although working with one of the second tier’s smallest budgets this summer, it was big by Rotherham’s standards – breaking the club transfer record to sign Christ Tiehi then surpassing it for Sam Nombe. Whilst Tiehi has been an important addition, centre-forward Nombe has struggled, only scoring his first goal against Ipswich last week.

Relying heavily on free agents proved costly, their fitness often found wanting in a squad which suffered heavily with injuries.

“It was felt by myself and the board that we had to act now by making a managerial change in order to give ourselves the best possible chance of retaining our Championship status this season,” said chairman Tony Stewart in a statement. “It has not been an easy decision to make.”