ADAM Barrett has insisted his only focus is on preparing Millwall for their game against Brentford – but refused to say if he would like to be considered for the job full-time.
Barrett was named caretaker boss after Neil Harris’ resignation last week and he was in charge of the 2-1 win over Leeds. Barrett said he is “ready to be a manager”.
At the time of writing, former Derby and Stoke boss Gary Rowett’s odds had shortened to make him favourite, at 7/4, ahead of Roy Keane and Chris Hughton (both 6/1).
Barrett was 15/2, while prices were also available for Mark Cooper, former Lions players Kevin Muscat and Tim Cahill, and Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth.
Barrett has also been one of the favourites to take over at his former club Southend.
He hadn’t had a conversation with Millwall over their longer-term plans earlier this week.
The club want an “efficient” recruitment process to identify and appoint their next manager.
“I will keep working with the boys every day until someone tells me otherwise. I’m fully focused on that,” Barrett said.
“My main concern is training and making sure we get that right.
“I’m enjoying it and looking forward to it.
“I see myself managing, that’s where I wanted to go when I retired. I feel I’m ready to be a manager but I haven’t had those discussions.
“I’m just concentrating on my role and I’ve been told to take the team for now. That’s exactly what I’m going to be doing.
“It’s been a whirlwind as you can imagine. I think everyone’s just getting their heads around it. I’ve been told to carry on taking the team.”
Millwall had two days off after the win over Leeds and returned to Calmont Road on Tuesday to prepare for their trip to Griffin Park on Saturday week.
Barrett added: “We’ve got a few lads away on international duty. The idea was always to have a couple of days off and then get in and work.
“They’ll recover the weekend coming and when they come back in next Monday it will be full focus on Brentford.
“There’s a real feel-good factor after the game and I want to keep that rolling, I want to keep the boys focused and make sure that we’re full steam ahead for Brentford.”
Meanwhile, Muscat, who managed Melbourne Victory in Australia’s A-League for six years until last May, was asked about the Millwall job this week.
He said: “Millwall is a unique football club. We made the FA Cup final, I was captain there. I had a great time there.
“At this point in time they haven’t got a manager and I’m looking for work, so read between the lines.
“I’m available but I haven’t spoken to anybody. I’ve got ambitions to be a career coach and if that becomes an opportunity I’d jump at it.”
Image: Millwall FC