[themaclad]

Rotherham United have named Exeter City boss Matt Taylor as their new manager.

Taylor was approached last week about the vacancy at the Championship club following the departure of Paul Warne to take over at Derby County.

The 40-year-old, who led Exeter to promotion from League Two last season, has signed a deal until 2026.

His assistant manager at Exeter, Wayne Carlisle, joins him in South Yorkshire and the pair will take charge for Wednesday's home game against Millwall.

Exeter said the clubs had "reached an agreement on a suitable compensation sum" and coaches Kevin Nicholson and Jon Hill would be taking over the first team while they searched for a new manager.

A former player at St James Park, Taylor took over at the Grecians in June 2018 when long-serving Paul Tisdale left.

As a player, he captained Exeter to promotion from non-league to League One, while he also enjoyed spells at Charlton Athletic and Cheltenham Town before returning to Devon to begin his coaching career.

"Taylor has been identified as the young, ambitious and intelligent manager that the Millers' board were looking for and not only does he boast those credentials, he also has form for following a long-term occupant of a managerial post," a Rotherham statement said.

The Millers are 12th in the Championship with three wins so far this season.

Analysis
Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport

Rotherham have finally got their man - one of League One's most highly regarded young managers.

At Exeter Taylor has played an attractive brand of passing football based on three central defenders, attacking wing-backs and two strikers.

He has also been instrumental in bringing through young talent such as Josh Key, Cheick Diabate and Matt Jay, as well as taking unheralded players like Tim Dieng and Jevani Brown and turning them into key contributors.

Exeter must now look for a new boss who is happy to work with the club's Trust ownership model and be happy to blood the club's academy players into the first team.

[themaclad]

Rotherham United have sacked manager Matt Taylor with the club 22nd in the Championship.

His final match was their 5-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, which left the Millers four points from safety.

Taylor had been with the Yorkshire club for 13 months, after leaving Exeter City to replace Paul Warne at the New York Stadium.

He kept Rotherham up last season, but he departs after just two wins from their 16 league games this season.

Taylor, 41, becomes the seventh Championship manager to leave his job so far this campaign.

In a statement released by the club chairman Tony Stewart said the search for a new manager was already under way, with the club's next match at home to Leeds United on 24 November.

Stewart said: "It was felt by myself and the board that we had to act now by making a managerial change in order to give ourselves the best possible chance of retaining our Championship status this season."

Tough act to follow
Taylor had impressed in leading Exeter to promotion from League Two in 2021-22, before he was recruited by Rotherham.

But he had a tough act to follow in taking over from Warne in October last year, even though the Millers were 11th in the table at the time.

His Rotherham side eventually secured their Championship status with a home win over Middlesbrough in the penultimate game of the season as they finished 19th, six points above the bottom three. It also broke their yo-yo habit of the previous six seasons, in which they had either been promoted or relegated between the second and third tiers.

There were other notable scalps, including a shock 1-0 win over neighbours Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

However, that success on 8 November last year was their last on the road, and their away form has been a huge problem this season.

The Millers have been competitive at home, as they showed in drawing 2-2 with Ipswich last Tuesday, but have only one point on the road, culminating in that heavy defeat at Vicarage Road.

Taylor said after what proved to be his final game in charge that his worry was that "it's a group of players who aren't believing".