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# Derby County reunion ruled out as new favourite emerges for EFL job

- **Source:** 
- **Club:** Derby County
- **Original URL:** https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/derby-county-mcclaren-simpson-rotherham-10977386

Rotherham are still on the lookout for a new head coach to succeed Lee Clark who has since landed the manager's position at non-league Hartlepool United.

And Simpson, who has been assistant to McClaren at Derby, Newcastle and Jamaica, was immediately tipped as a possible contender to take charge given their close links.

But Simpson currently has a job in America where he is working with their federation ahead of the World Cup this summer, leading McClaren to dismiss the possibility of a Derby reunion.

"No,” McClaren told the Rotherham Advertiser when asked about Simpson.

"Paul's a great friend of mine. He's been an assistant with me before. I'd have loved to have brought him in, but he's happy in the US working with the federation over there.

"He's got a World Cup coming up. You can rule him out.”

Former Notts County manager Ian Burchnall has been linked with the job in the last 24 hours having previously been at Wolves on Gary O'Neil's coaching staff.

And McClaren added: "Yeah, I'm not far away.

“I know a lot of people, I've worked with a lot of people. I've got two or three people in mind.

“I need to align with the new head coach coming in. We have to have a good relationship. I've seen that relationship not be right. If that's not right, the club won't succeed, so the recruitment of a head coach is very important.”

“The time scale is the time scale,” he said. “I don't like to rush into decisions. You've have to get them right. You have to get all the information, and that's what I'm gathering. I pretty much know what I want.”

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