Next Millwall manager: Who’s favourite to take charge of Preston North End’s next opponents?

Preston North End's Saturday opponents Millwall last night announced the shock decision to part company with Gary Rowett.

The 49-year-old was the second-longest serving manager in the Championship, and was just a few days short of being Lions manager for four years. He had twice recorded two eighth place finishes, in between 11th and ninth placed finishes, so he always finished in the top-half.

As for his reason for his departure from The Den, he said 'the time just feels right to part ways' despite being just a few days out from their trip to Deepdale. Most clubs who part company with their manager tend to do it before the international break to allow their replacement to settle in, but instead Millwall have done it just three days out from their next match.

Assistant manager Adam Barrett has stepped up to the plate and is likely to oversee Saturday's fixture. He's already had one caretaker spell at Millwall in October 2019, overseeing three games in which there was a win, a draw and a loss. He will be assisted by Paul Robinson, who spent 14-years as a player at Millwall, and had coaching experience as defensive coach at Portsmouth.

Preston will be hoping there's no new manager bounce for Millwall, but there's plenty of speculation now as to who will get the job. The early favourite for the role is Kevin Muscat, who is said to have missed out on the Rangers job. The 50-year-old is currently in charge of Japanese outfit Yokohama F.Marinos, and has a fair amount of experience in English football having played for Crystal palace, Wolves, Rangers and Millwall.

Second in the race for the job is John Eustace, who was harshly sacked from his role as manager of Birmingham City, and replaced by Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. Mark Kennedy was the first of two managerial departures on Wednesday after he left his post as Lincoln City manager, and is in the running for a swift return to management.

Michael Beale, sacked from Rangers in September after an eighth-month spell at Ibrox is fourth favourite, and then Nathan Jones who was let go by Southampton during an ill-fated spell on the South Coast. Interestingly, Chelsea Women's manager Emma Hayes is on the list, and is valued at 16/1 which is the same as Dean Smith, Ryan Mason and Stevenage boss Steve Evans.

Next Millwall manager (odds right on SkyBet at time of publication)

• Kevin Muscat (6/4)
• John Eustace (5/1)
• Mark Kennedy (8/1)
• Michael Beale (10/1)
• Nathan Jones (12/1)
• Lee Bowyer and Steve Cotterill (14/1)
• Dean Smith, Emma Hayes, Ryan Mason and Steve Evans (16/1)
• Joey Barton and Karl Robinson (20/1)
• Danny Cowley, Frank Lampard, Leam Richardson, Neil Harris and Steve Morrison (25/1)
• Sol Campbell (33/1)