It is predicted that Neil Harris will take over as manager of Championship team Millwall, less than five months after Gillingham fired him.
Following his dismissal as the Gills manager and his early December appointment as head coach of League 1 Cambridge United, Harris has not been seen in public. He wouldn’t be likely to reject down the opportunity to lead Millwall, his former team.
There are numerous rumours circulating that Harris, the all-time record goalscorer for Millwall and former manager, is returning to The Den.
With current manager Joe Edwards expected to depart, Richard Cawley, sports editor of the South London Press, has reported that Harris will rejoin the team as head coach and David Livermore as assistant.
Harris left the Gills earlier this season after going three games without winning, so this would be a stunning comeback for him. The club announced that they wanted to “go in a different direction,” thus he quit.
Since then, Gillingham has hired Stephen Clemence as head coach, and he has been trying to bring about a shift in approach after Priestfield owner Brad Galinson desired a more thrilling style of game.
After the Gills began the season with four straight league victories and a League Cup triumph over Southampton, Harris departed the team while they were one point off of the automatic promotion spots.
Currently 11 points outside of the top three, the Gills are fighting with teams as low as 16th to secure a coveted play-off position.
Retired manager Harris would be taking over a Millwall squad that sits just one point above the Championship safety zone. After two consecutive play-off seasons, he guided the Lions to promotion from League 1 to the Championship during his previous tenure as manager.
He took over a League 1 squad that was having trouble during his tenure with the Gills, but he was unable to keep them from dropping out. They had a rough start to League 2 and fell to the bottom of the table, but after Galinson took over, he had the means to bring in new players, and the squad made an incredible comeback to stay out of trouble.
After overseeing 11 league games this season, he was fired as the team sought to change course.
Since being appointed on December 6, Harris has overseen 13 league games at Cambridge, with five victories, five losses, and three ties. In League 2, the U’s are six points above the relegation zone in 17th place.
