Gary Rowett hint means Millwall supporters can have no regrets over big decision: View

•  Gary Rowett’s departure from Millwall was likely driven by family reasons, as he was missing his family in the Midlands.
•  The club may not have been able to help with the family situation, as moving to London could disrupt his children’s schooling and stability.
•  Rowett’s departure was probably for the best, as it allowed him to prioritize his family and the club to move on with a new chapter under Joe Edwards.

Millwall dropped a major bombshell during the last international break when they revealed that Gary Rowett had left the club.

Arriving in October 2019, Rowett was the man who led the Lions through the Covid-19 pandemic and was a figure that was probably expected to take them through the next season or two.

But his time at The Den was cut short, with both the club and the 50-year-old seemingly feeling it was the right time to part company.

Many people wondered what had actually happened. Was Rowett actually happy with this decision? Was it the club who pushed for this mutual parting?

During the Lions’ away game at Norwich City earlier this season, there were negative chants towards him and with James Berylson now taking the reins, some will have believed that the latter wanted to put his stamp on the club by making a managerial change.

That would have arguably been the wrong decision though, because Rowett has been a great stabiliser and there are no guarantees that they will do better now he’s gone.

Having guided them to consecutive top-half finishes in recent seasons, even without Jed Wallace last season, many fans will have been fearing that Rowett’s departure would lead to the club’s decline.

Some supporters may have the same fears despite their 4-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday under successor Joe Edwards before the international break.

What did Paul Robinson say about Gary Rowett’s departure?

Robinson served as a coach under the Rowett regime – and hinted that family reasons played a big part in his departure.

Speaking on the Second Tier Pod, he said: “He (Rowett) was from the Midlands, and I think the time being away from the family, especially his youngest, I think it was getting to him.

“And there are times in football where pressure away from your family takes its toll and you miss out on them times like I missed out on my time with my boys, especially my two youngest who are now 12 and 14, you don’t realise because you’re so ingrained in your job with what you’re trying to do and how you’re trying to make the team work and how you’re trying to help individual players, you forget about your own life and your own family time.

“So yeah, the Gary situation came out of the blue, but you could understand it.

“You could understand that he was missing his family, but you’ve also got to appreciate what a great job he’s done at Millwall over the four years and the stability that he’s given the team and the narrow misses that we missed out on play-offs, especially last year, I think that was the hardest one missing out and losing that last game 4-3 and missing out.”

Why can Millwall supporters have no regrets about Gary Rowett’s departure?

These comments just go to show that Rowett probably did play a big part in his departure.

Although the Lions could have played a part in helping his family move from the Midlands to the English capital, that may have been a pain for them considering his children may be at school and/or settled where they are.

With this in mind, Rowett’s departure was probably unpreventable if he was missing his family. The 50-year-old may miss the Midlands too and want to spend more time there following a long spell at The Den

And if he had spent more of his time in the Midlands, he may not have been able to do his job properly, so his departure probably came as a good thing for all parties.

That’s why supporters can have no regrets about his departure.

Even if the Edwards era doesn’t work out, Rowett’s departure was meant to be and they need to move on now.

Many fans, especially those who wanted Rowett to leave, have already immersed themselves into this new chapter and a thumping win at Hillsborough has helped with that.

The table shows that there’s plenty of work to do, but Edwards has made a great start.