Lee Clark has embarked on a taxi dash across half of the country to ensure he is at Rotherham United’s match at Leyton Orient, Daily Mail Sport understands.
The manager of the League One Millers had returned to his native North East from London following the passing of his mother-in-law last night. However, despite the fact Rotherham have been relegated, Clark boarded a train from Newcastle back to the capital this morning at 7.57am.
That service came to a halt outside Doncaster, South Yorkshire, thanks to a broken down train on the line.
Undeterred, Clark then flagged down a taxi and was estimated to arrive at Brisbane Road at around 2.30pm, half an hour before kick-off.
However, thanks to further delays, the 53-year-old – who played for both Newcastle and Sunderland – is now expected to get to the home of the O’s at 2.59pm, making it unlikely that he will be able to give a team talk.
A statement released by Rotherham this morning read: ‘Everyone at Rotherham United would like to offer their heartfelt condolences to our first team manager Lee Clark following the sad news of the passing of his mother-in-law Helen on Friday night.
‘Lee returned home to the North East from the team’s hotel in London to be with his partner Rachael yesterday evening, and, following conversations between the family has taken the decision to travel back to London to take charge of the team at Leyton Orient.
‘In an effort to ensure that Lee can be back to support his family at the earliest possible opportunity, the club can confirm that assistant manager Peter Leven will conduct post-match media duties at the BetWright Stadium.
‘We know that our supporters will join us in extending their deepest sympathies to Lee, Rachael and the wider McArdle family and share our gratitude to him for the complicated logistical challenges he has navigated to take manage the team at Leyton Orient.’
