Millwall boss Gary Rowett confirms he will fill coaching vacancy after Shaun Williams’ departure

Gary Rowett has confirmed he will bring in a new coach after confirmation at the weekend that Shaun Williams will be leaving Millwall.

And the Lions manager admits he probably misjudged the Irish midfielder’s desire to keep playing.

Williams was appointed player-coach in August.

Asked if his departure opened up a position on his backroom team, Rowett told the South London Press: “It does. We brought in Dave Carolan in a slightly different role [performance coach] after Cal [Callum Davidson left]. One of the reasons was I wanted to try and find a solution within the group and I felt Willo could do that.

“I probably underestimated just how much Willo wanted to play. I wouldn’t say I forced him, but I probably unfairly felt it was a natural progression for him.

“But where he has played for so long, and so well, he was just desperate to play, which is testament to him. It is a fantastic attitude to have.

“It does free up another role now. We need another coach to work with myself, Adam [Barrett] and the other guys. It is something I’m actively pursuing in the next week or two. I’ll let a week go by and get a breather, relax a little bit. But we’ll push forward and bring in the coach that we need.”