Keith Millen says becoming manager of Gillingham permanently isn’t on the agenda.
Millen was asked to take over on an interim basis by director of football Kenny Jackett, after Neil Harris was sacked, and he was happy to help.
Neil Harris: The Highs and Lows
His own role at the club had been up for discussion already, having initially joined as head of academy coaching before taking a more active role in the B team and the first team in recent weeks.
Millen met with the outgoing management team of Harris and David Livermore on Thursday, shortly after they were dismissed. The pair even offered him help with preparing for the MK Dons game this Saturday.
The experienced coach is happy to take on the inbetween role while the Gills look for a new head coach, having previously had caretaker positions previously at Bristol City, Crystal Palace and with weekend opponents MK Dons.
He went onto manage on a permanent basis at Bristol City and was more recently manager at Carlisle United but he’s not expecting to be in charge of the Gills for long.
“The one thing I have realised over the years is that I don’t know how long I will be the interim manager for, it could be two days, two weeks, I have had spells of doing it for three weeks, but in my head I am in charge now, I am interim head coach until I am told differently.
Millen was asked if he was going for the role permanently and said: “No, no I am not. The club has made their statement and I have not been privy to the details of that,.I have been asked to keep the seat warm for the next person.
“I try and plan now for Saturday, we have a game Tuesday (in the EFL Trophy at Portsmouth) and then against Saturday, I have to think like that, whether I am in charge on Tuesday I don’t know but that is my thought process.”
Once his interim first-team role ends, there will be a discussion had over his own position.
He said: “That has (already) been ongoing, trying to work out where I best suit the club.
“I have been helping coach the B team and 18s, I have been involved in all the different teams. Going forward we will probably sit down and say, ‘well okay, maybe let’s try and use you in this area’, it’s important for me to be happy in my work and also for what the club want.”
His recent work with the B team and on the bench during first-team matches while Livermore served a three-game touchline ban has helped him get to know the players.
“It has helped,” he said. “Certainly in relationships with players, everyone is different, in need of different motivation, you don’t know that until you work with them.
“I have got a bit of background now to work out how they are as individuals. As a coach and a manager it’s up to me to get the best out of them.”
“The change of direction is not me, I am taking the team Saturday, I am different to Neil, I have been a manager, I have been caretaker manager too many times and my ideas will be slightly different to Neil’s and any other manager. You have to have an identity for what you do.
“Am I going to turn it around in one and a half training sessions? No. Thursday was a case of seeing the players, obviously, they played Tuesday (losing at Crewe) so there were tired legs and I have to work out who is fit, look at MK Dons, do the homework on the opposition and think of a team that will give us the best chance of winning the game.
“I would like to think that we would get a positive reaction on Saturday. We want to be on the front-foot and show there is a desire within the changing room, I would like to think we will see that.
“I would like to see us play football but play to win games, we won’t be playing 20 passes in our own 18-yard box, that is not League 2 anyway, I am aware of what’s needed to win games in League 2, that is my challenge now in the next 24 hours to pick a team and there doesn’t need to be drastic changes.
“With where we are in the league, there are a lot of good things going on, I may need to tweak one or two things to win the game for us.
“I have been in this position before and I know what it takes to be an interim manager.
“Straight away my first-team head comes alive, trying to think how we are going to win on Saturday. I am thinking about the tactics and the team.
