Michael Duff backed as Leam Richardson replacement at Rotherham United | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Rotherham United have confirmed the decision to part ways with manager Leam Richardson.

The Millers have suffered relegation back to League One in their second campaign in the Championship.

The 44-year-old was appointed in December last year with the team struggling to survive in the second division.

He oversaw just two wins in his 24 games in charge, as the Yorkshire side had their return to League One confirmed earlier this month with a 1-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle.

No immediate long-term replacement has been appointed, with assistant manager Rob Kelly also departing the club.

Michael Duff backed to replace Leam Richardson at Rotherham

FLW’s Rotherham fan pundit Tom Eyre believes Michael Duff could be an ideal candidate to take over the first team squad.

Other candidates could include Neil Warnock or Steve Evans, but the former Swansea City boss is seen as the best option for the club going forward.

“Only manager I can viably see us wanting to sign is Michael Duff,” Eyre told Football League World.

“[He] did a good job at Barnsley, didn’t do so well at Swansea, granted, maybe a touch above his level.

“He’s a hard-working manager, he wanted to play some good football, wanted his players to work hard, work for him.

“Whoever it is, it needs to be a long-term investment because if it’s for the next five games it’s the wrong call.

“Other mentions, I can see Warnock, but I don’t think he’s a long-term solution and I believe Steve Evans maybe won’t want a return.

“But, for me it’s Michael Duff.”

Leam Richardson's lack of Championship experience

Richardson had previously managed Wigan Athletic and Accrington Stanley prior to taking over at Rotherham last year.

While he had guided the Latics to League One promotion, his Championship experience was quite limited.

He lasted just a few months in the division, despite having earned the league title on their way back to the second tier.

Richardson was initially appointed on a three-and-a-half-year contract, but he only lasted four months in the role.

The Millers will now be planning for life in the third division next season, with the team’s 24th-place finish already confirmed going into their final few fixtures.

The Yorkshire outfit ends their time in the Championship with games against Birmingham City, Bristol City and Cardiff City.

Duff could be a smart option for Rotherham

Rotherham will be hoping to appoint someone that can help oversee a return to the Championship at the first attempt next year.

It’s been a massively disappointing campaign for the club, with their inevitable relegation finally confirmed earlier this month.

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time, and it was just a matter of deciding whether the hierarchy believed Richardson was the man to bring the team back up next year.

Duff could be a smart replacement, as he brought Barnsley to the play-off final in his time in League One last season.