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Robins put on gardening leave

Image: Robins: Still in talks with Barnsley

Rotherham have placed Mark Robins on gardening leave until after he has held talks with Barnsley.

Millers manager given time off while he talks with Tykes

Rotherham have placed manager Mark Robins on gardening leave until after he has held talks with Barnsley over their vacant managerial position. As Skysports.com revealed on Wednesday the Tykes have singled Robins out as their desired choice to succeed Simon Davey at the helm after he left the club by mutual consent at the weekend. Davey paid the price for the Yorkshire club's slow start to the season after picking up just one point from their opening five games, leaving them bottom of the Championship. In contrast Robins has led the Millers to second in League Two, level on points with leaders Dagenham & Redbridge, moving on nicely from last season when he kept Rotherham up despite the team starting on minus 17 points. "Mark Robins has confirmed that his talks with Barnsley FC are not yet concluded and as such, whilst he remains our manager, it has been agreed that he will take a period of gardening leave until the matter is resolved," Rotherham chairman Tony Steward said in a statement. "We will keep fans updated as and when further developments occur and wish to confirm that preparations for Saturday's game with Chesterfield will take priority at this moment in time."

Opportunity

Meanwhile, Millers winger Andy Liddell insists Robins cannot be blamed for wanting to test himself at a higher level. "I think the most important thing is for Mark to make the right decision for himself because you don't always get the opportunities you want at the time you want them," he stated. "Barnsley is a great club with Premiership-standard facilities, despite the side struggling at the minute it is a club with great potential." However if Robins did decide to move on the former Wigan man believes the Millers could still carry on their impressive start to the season. "I only joined this summer, but I can already tell what a good manager he is and he knows what he is talking about," he added. "It would be a blow to the club to lose someone like that. However I've played for enough managers at different clubs to know that no one person is bigger than the football club. "The club will carry on regardless of who is at the helm, so if he did go I'm sure the board would find an adequate replacement to fill his shoes."

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