50-year-old keen on Millwall managerial job and wants ex-Lions defender as assistant | OneFootball

In somewhat of an unexpected twist last week, Millwall's managerial job became up for grabs after the club parted ways with long-serving boss Gary Rowett.

Rowett was closing in on the four-year anniversary of his appointment in South Bermondsey, but just a few days before the Lions returned to action after the international break, the 49-year-old's exit was announced.

The departure of Rowett has been described by the man himself as a very mutual affair, with all parties declaring that it would be in the best interests to all go their separate ways.

Millwall will now move on to try and find Rowett's successor, with Adam Barrett currently in charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis, picking up a point on his first outing against Preston North End at the weekend with a 1-1 draw at Deepdale.

Barrett has been coy when asked if he expects to get an interview from chairman James Berylson in regards to the full-time post, but it is more likely that there is an outside hire.

And one name that has been mooted is former Millwall defender Kevin Muscat, who played for the club between 2003 and 2005 and has since turned into a successful manager since his retirement from playing.

Currently at Japanese outfit Yokohama F. Marinos, where he won the J-League title in 2022, Muscat is thought to be the ideal candidate for a lot of fans thanks to not only his allegience with the club, but also his record in the Far East and also in Australia with Melbourne Victory.

Is Kevin Muscat interested in the Millwall job?

TalkSPORT's Alex Crook claimed on Monday though Muscat is unlikely to become the new boss at The Den, which comes a number of weeks after he was hotly tipped to take over at another one of his former clubs in the form of Glasgow Rangers.

According to Football Insider though, Muscat is indeed interested at the prospect of returning to his former club to take the reins, although that isn't to say that it still isn't unlikely that the ex-Lions defender will be appointed to the job.

With a contract that expires in January 2024 in Japan, Muscat could be gettable for Millwall should they opt to make him their number one target, and per Football Insider's report, he'd want to bring a former Lions team-mate with him as an assistant.

Which ex-Millwall player does Kevin Muscat want as his assistant?

Alan Dunne was not an established player at the time when Muscat arrived at Millwall in 2003, but he was a young defender who was getting the odd chance in the first-team, and it was only after the Australia international's exit in 2005 where he became a fully-fledged first-teamer at The Den as they both played in the same position.

Dunne went on to play 388 times for Millwall in all competitions before having stints with Leyton Orient and Bromley in his latter years, and he remained at Bromley after he hung his boots up, where he is currently a first-team coach at the National League outfit.

It remains to be seen if Muscat is the manager that Berylson will opt for and in-turn if he would bring Dunne with him back to South London, but there would certainly be no shortage of passion, commitment and excitement if that duo were to be appointed.