Denis Coleman - Press Conference

Rotherham United Chairman, Denis Coleman, held a press conference today to discuss the sacking of manager, Alan Knill and the future of the football club.

On Knill he said, 'we tried to give Alan as much support as we could. We got him every player bar one that he asked for and things came to a head this week and we had to make a tough decision.

'It`s not easy or good when you have to sell your best players. But we have to do what`s best for the football club. We have to balance the books and be realistic. We did give him the opportunity to bring in other strikers.

'I met with Alan on Tuesday and we both spoke about what we wanted for this club next season. I wasn`t happy about what was said in the press last week -it looked like we hadn`t backed the manager. But there was no pressure on Alan for the Swansea game we just said go out and do your best.

'Alan`s not stupid, he knew pressure was on him. We`ve won one game in nineteen and I think we have been patient during that period but we couldn`t see where another win was coming from. At some stage you have to make a decision. After a nine hour meeting yesterday we made that tough decision. It was a unanimous decision from the board.

' Mark (Robins) and I spoke to the player this morning. I think one or two of the players let him down. But they have a fresh start now and they are all playing for contracts. If they don`t perform they we won`t want them and if we don`t want them no one else will. I am going to have a one-to-one with every player to gather their thoughts, to see how they feel about the club and if they want to play for the club.

' I asked Mark, late last night if he would come and take charge for Saturday. As you can imagine, it`s been a very busy morning, and Mark has had a training session to take so we haven`t had time to sit down and talk yet.

'We have enough games to get out of relegation but if Mark did that then he would get the keys to the town; it would be nothing short of a minor miracle. We will give Mark all the support we can, as we did Alan. We are realistic though and we are already looking towards next season. But we will keep fighting.`

The Chairman was asked about a new manager.

'The Phone has been red hot already this morning - it`s amazing how many managers are out of contract. We are in no hurry to appoint someone. We have got to get it right and it has to be the right one for Rotherham. We won`t be rushing into any decisions.`

He ended by saying, 'Only time will tell if the decision to sack Alan Knill is the right one or the wrong one.`

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