FA Cup semi-finalists Millwall on Thursday confirmed they are set to appoint former West Ham midfielder Steve Lomas as their new manager next week.
The Championship club have made the controversial decision to hire St Johnstone boss Lomas as successor to Kenny Jackett despite his lengthy association with arch rivals West Ham.
Former Northern Ireland international Lomas spent eight years with the Hammers and rumours of his impending appointment had provoked an angry response from many Millwall fans earlier this week.
The rivalry between Millwall and West Ham is one of the most notorious in English football and has led to serious crowd trouble on several occasions, most recently in 2009 when a League Cup clash between the clubs was marred by major disorder.
However, Millwall chairman John Berylson is confident the 39-year-old Lomas can win over the critics once he starts work with the south London outfit following a family holiday.
“I was tremendously impressed with Steve,” Berylson said. “He has great passion and energy, knows a lot about Millwall as a club already, and this is a job he is genuinely hungry for.
“I believe our fans will take to him, and to those who say we shouldn’t have appointed a former captain of our biggest rivals, my response is, he has the desire to become a great Millwall manager.
“He understands the rivalry and is keen to be judged over time on his commitment to our club and what he can help us achieve.”
Lomas had caught Millwall’s attention after guiding St Johnstone to European qualification for the last two seasons, including a third place finish — their highest ever placing — in the Scottish Premier League this term.
Millwall, who were beaten by Wigan in an FA Cup semi-final marred by fighting between the clubs’ own supporters in April, only narrowly avoided relegation to League One on the final day of this season
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