‘Class act’ – Former Millwall striker Matt Smith left saddened by high-profile Den departures

Former Millwall striker Matt Smith has described Steve Kavanagh – who lost his job as chief executive last week – as “a class act”.

Lions owner James Berylson made wholesale changes to his hierarchy last Friday as he also parted company with Alex Aldridge, director of football operations and recruitment, as well as chief operating officer Billy Taylor.

Smith has revealed that he got a chance to view first-hand just how smoothly the Championship club was being run when he was studying for his MBA (Masters of Business Administration) qualification.

The 34-year-old scored 21 goals in 102 appearances for Millwall.

Smith told the South London Press: “Whenever you think about changes at a football club in the summer you never envisage it being senior executive level – you always assume it is on manager and player level.

“I was really shocked and saddened. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect and time, particularly for Steve Kavanagh, but also Billy Taylor and Alex.

“I’ve been around a lot of footballing CEOs over the years and, for me, Steve Kavanagh is as good as it gets. He is a class act.

“I hope for the club’s sake they have got a good replacement because he will be a tough act to follow for sure.

“Steve is a very personable guy – you could really speak to him on a real honest level – super honest.

“I remember the way he conducted himself during the Covid times – when you think of everything football clubs were going through – and I remember thinking ‘you are impeccable’ in the way he conducted himself.

“He is super switched on and amazingly good at his job.

“I can speak from a different perspective because when I was doing my MBA – something John Berylson had done himself – he opened the doors to me at Millwall. When you do an MBA you have to speak a lot about your existing business – it was different for me because – as a player – you can’t really speak from a business perspective, because you are a player.

“What John did is sort of open up the cabinet at Millwall and gave me access. I was privvy to all sorts of documents that I probably shouldn’t have had access to, but it enabled me to understand how the club works. Even looking at that I was like ‘wow, this is such a well-run club’ at a pure business level, within its means and not doing anything crazy. It was just so tidy and immacuately wrapped up between John and Steve.

“Take away the stuff that was happening on the pitch, which was brilliant at the time by the way – three seasons just outside the play-offs – it was immaculate in the way it was run.

“Steve was a huge part of that. He was a brilliant guy. I loved talking to him – he was always honest and always approachable. Even when I left the club there were no hard feelings. He was just a really good person, so it’s sad to see when that happens to good people.

“He’ll have plenty of offers, for sure, with his accounting background and he is supremely experienced in his field. Whoever takes him next will be lucky.

“Alex left for Stoke not too long after I arrived. I always liked Alex and he was a good guy. I didn’t have a load of dealings with him.

“Billy, I am sad for – he has been there for a long time and poured his blood, sweat and tears into the club over that period – probably starting from the bottom rung of the ladder to right up near the top.

“Again, he is part of the furniture. It is sad – these are good people. I know they will be really well-equipped to move on to whatever is next. I felt they were part of the fabric of Millwall.”