Ex-Wigan Athletic boss frontrunner for Championship vacancy

Leam Richardson is poised for a return to management at Championship outfit Rotherham

The 44-year-old has been out of work since he left Latics following the 2-0 defeat at Coventry on November 8 last year.

Latics had won only one in the previous 10 matches to slump to second-bottom in the Championship table.

Ironically, the game before that 10-game sequence was a 2-0 victory at Rotherham, which left Latics in the heady heights of ninth on the ladder.

And it's the vacancy Rotherham which Richardson looks set to take on.

The Millers have been without a boss for almost a month after sacking Matt Taylor on November 13.

It's understood former Luton and Southampton chief Nathan Jones turned down the job at the weekend, while Gary Rowett, who recently left Millwall, also dropped out of contention.

Wayne Carlisle has been in interim charge and was an outside chance of staying in the post.

But very well placed sources in South Yorkshire suggest Richardson is now the frontrunner, ahead of Mark Warburton and Steve Evans.

Richardson enjoyed a rollercoaster of a five-and-a-half year spell with Latics.

Having arrived from Portsmouth with Paul Cook in the summer of 2017, he helped Latics lift the League One title – and knock Manchester City out of the FA Cup during his first season.

After consolidating in the Championship, Latics were hit by the hammer blow of administration in the summer of 2020.

Stepping up to first-team boss, Richardson led Latics to the greatest of Great Escapes the following season, before winning the League One title with a completely new squad the year after.