Wigan Athletic supporters will be furious if Leam Richardson to Rotherham United is a success: View | OneFootball

Former Wigan Athletic manager Leam Richardson looks set to become Rotherham United's manager, which would mark his return to management just over a year since the Latics dismissed him.

The Millers have been on a woeful run of form, and have not picked up a win from any of their last seven games, with their last victory coming all the way back in October against Coventry City.

Due to this awful form, perhaps it is no surprise that the South Yorkshire outfit dismissed former boss Matt Taylor following their 5-0 defeat to Watford in a season when they have only won on two occasions.

Following his dismissal from the Millers, Taylor recently took up the managerial post at Bristol Rovers, where he could be a success, as his track record in League One is undeniably better than that of the Championship.

Richardson is on the verge of becoming Taylor's successor at the Millers, according to the Rotherham Advertiser, and could be a good appointment after doing well at the Latics on the whole.

Richardson first took the reins at the Tics when former manager Paul Cook left the club in summer 2020 after the club was plunged into administration by ex-owner Stanley Choi.

Richardson was Cook's assistant, and decided to step up to the managerial post at the DW Stadium, in an effort to keep the club together during turbulent times.

The Latics were relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2019-20 campaign courtesy of a 12-point deduction, and Richardson was only able to sign free agents and loanees prior to the 2020-21 League One season.

As recently stated in Richardson's piece in Coaches Voice, the administrators at Latics decided to appoint John Sheridan ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, but Richardson returned in November as Sheridan left for Swindon Town.

Remarkably, despite not having any money to spend in either the summer or January transfer windows and having a very makeshift squad due to being in administration, Richardson kept the Latics up as they avoided relegation to League Two with a game to spare.

Then owner Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi purchased the Tics in spring 2021, and permanently appointed Richardson as manager following his survival heroics.

Remarkably, Richardson then led the Latics to the League One title in the 2021-22 campaign, as well as enjoying cup runs in both the EFL Trophy and the FA Cup in which they reached the semi-finals and fourth round respectively.

The Tics initially took well to Championship life at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, and even defeated eventual play-off final winners Luton Town in early September 2022.

But following a 1-0 victory over Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers in the October of that season, the Latics then went on a winless run of seven games which was enough to convince then chairman Talal Al-Hammad to dismiss Richardson of his duties.

Many of the Latics faithful deemed this decision to be harsh, as Richardson had been able to deal with tricky situations in the past, and there is nothing to prove he would not have done so again.

Furthermore, Richardson did not receive the backing of the board during the summer transfer window prior to the Latics' Championship return, and it became apparent that Al-Jasmi and co were mismanaging the club's finances as the Tics were subject to points deductions later on in the campaign.

Wigan Athletic fans may be angry if Richardson is a success at Rotherham United

Latics fans know all about Richardson's ability to stave off relegation, which is his aim at the Millers, but the former Wigan boss has not previously been given the opportunity to maintain a side's Championship status.

But his track record of keeping the Latics up in League One under the most trying of circumstances, combined with a period of good form in the Championship could indicate that Richardson has what it takes to keep the Millers up.

After dismissing Richardson, the Latics decided to appoint Kolo Toure which turned out to be a disastrous decision, as the Ivorian did not win a single game from his nine games in charge.

The appointment of current manager Shaun Maloney proved to be too little too late for the Tics who suffered immediate relegation back down to League One.

If Richardson succeeds at the Millers and keeps them in the Championship, Latics fans may feel the emotions of anger, jealousy and most of all that bitter 'what could have been' feeling only football knows how to produce.