Millwall: Joe Edwards parts company with struggling Lions with Neil Harris in talks to return

Millwall have confirmed the departure of head coach Joe Edwards after just 19 games in charge.

The Lions sit 21st in the Championship, just one point above the relegation zone, with 13 games remaining this season.

Edwards – who succeeded Gary Rowett at The Den on November 6 – won four of his 19 games in charge in all competitions.

Millwall have lost six of their last seven league games and are without a win since New Year’s Day.

Millwall chairman James Berylson said: “This has of course been a very tough time and it is not a decision that we have taken lightly.

“Joe has worked incredibly hard during his spell with us and it is with sincere regret that the move hasn’t worked out for both parties in the way we had anticipated.

“I cannot praise him highly enough for his professionalism, standards, values, and work ethic, and I am confident he will have a long and successful career as a head coach

“I would like to thank Joe and Andy [Myers – Edwards’ assistant] for everything they’ve done for the club and wish them every success for the future.”

Millwall are in talks with Cambridge United over a return for Lions legend Neil Harris.

Harris, 46, is Millwall’s all-time record goalscorer and managed the club between March 2015 and October 2019.

He was in charge at Gillingham until October 5 2023, before moving on to Cambridge, where he signed an 18-month deal on December 6.

Should he be appointed, Harris will be the first manager to go from League Two to League One to the Championship in the same season.

The only other manager Opta have on record to have managed in three tiers in the same season is Tommy Docherty in 1968/69.

In that season, Docherty managed Rotherham in the Third Division, QPR in the First Division and Aston Villa in the Second Division.

Millwall hero Harris to rescue a season heading towards relegation?

Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:

Millwall’s record goalscorer Neil Harris looks set for a sensational return to rescue a season which has spiralled dangerously and left a team which was 45 minutes away from finishing in the play-offs last year facing a drop into the Championship relegation zone this weekend.

Promising young coach Joe Edwards was brought in with a remit to refresh the style and approach of a team which had punched above its weight with a direct way of playing under Gary Rowett.

Millwall supporters had grown frustrated with the football under Edwards’ predecessor – but the collapse in results since Rowett’s departure has highlighted how he was maximising the return from this group of players. At least in terms of results. It was not always pretty but Rowett’s methods had delivered a top-nine finish in three of his four seasons in charge.

Edwards was hailed as ‘innovative’ and ‘progressive’ upon his appointment but it soon became clear his vision for a new-look Millwall would take substantial time to implement. In mid-January he was already talking about future transfer windows and next season. But in football, long-term ambitions must also be coupled with short-term results. Millwall have taken just one point from the previous 24 available.

It is hoped Harris will provide an instant boost. His first appointment to the role on a permanent basis came in 2015 when he impressed late on in a season in which Millwall were facing relegation from the Championship. Back then he reconnected the fanbase with the team and he went on to enhance his legacy at the club with back-to-back trips to Wembley for League One play-off finals, returning the club to the second tier in 2017.

Just over two years later, he handed in his resignation, describing the separation as “the right time” for both parties. But after his managerial journey has since taken him to Cardiff, Gillingham and Cambridge United, now seems an appropriate moment for an emotional reunion. The ambition to play fancy football is likely to be parked. Harris told Sky Sports during his previous tenure he wanted to create a team the club’s fans can identify with. Expect a return to the core values of the club’s playing style – aggressive, attacking, high-intensity – under Harris when he arrives.