Millwall boss Gary Rowett: There will always be clubs wanting Neil Warnock – I’m not sure retirement will ever happen

Millwall manager Gary Rowett has spoken of his admiration for Neil Warnock – and admits he doesn’t expect to match the longevity of the Middlesbrough boss.

Former Crystal Palace chief Warnock, 71, recently replaced Jonathan Woodgate in the hotseat of the Championship strugglers.

The Lions face Boro tomorrow at The Den with high stakes for both clubs.

Warnock has the most promotions in English football – eight – and is closing in on 1,500 matches in the dugout.

“I’ve come across Neil a lot,” said Rowett. “I’ve played against his teams and I’ve found him incredibly charismatic. I really like Neil. Every now and then he’ll say something tongue in cheek, that’s just him.

“The reason he has come back again is because he’s a manager who normally gets the job done. He’s a manager who is so consistent in what he does.

“He’s always going to be sought-after, because clubs will want him to sort things out for them. It’s hard for him to retire and I’m not sure he’ll ever retire because there is always going to be someone who wants Neil to manage their team.

“We’ll expect, especially after Middlesbrough lost at the weekend , that they’ll be desperate, like all the teams we’re playing down near the bottom end of the table. They’ve got good players and we know what they are capable of – we’ve got to go and put in another big performance for ourselves.”

Rowett moved into management in 2012 at Burton Albion and has followed up with spells at Birmingham City, Derby County and Stoke City.

“I won’t be managing into my 70s – that’s for sure,” said the Lions boss. “I enjoy life far too much to want to manage until I’m 70.

“But everyone says the same. It’s addictive. I went home and probably watched six games this weekend, going from one game to the next, to the next – because I love it.

“It’s like with Neil, you’re so passionate about the game that it’s hard to give it up. It’s like a drug. It is addictive. You are addicted to the atmosphere of games, managing players and trying to get a result. Even when you don’t there is that horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach but you wake up the next day determined to go again and enjoy it.

“There is something quite perverse about it. I don’t imagine I’ll be managing until I’m 70-odd, but at the same time it is a hard thing to give up – as Neil shows. He loves it, he’s passionate about it and he’s brilliant at it.”