SACKED Wigan Warriors coach Ian Millward will return to Australia after lasting less than a year in charge at the JJB Stadium.

Two top NRL clubs recently sounded Millward out to take charge, but he insisted he would "tough it out" at Wigan, turn things around and keep the club in the top flight.

Last Saturday, following defeat at Wakefield, Millward received an early-morning telephone call from chairman Maurice Lindsay offering support.

Millward claimed that Lindsay had said he admired the way the charismatic little Aussie was battling on in the face of adversity.

Two days later, Lindsay was telling Millward to pack his bags and leave the JJB Stadium for the last time.

His sacking does not come as a shock but Wigan employees were surprised at the timing. They knew he was under pressure but felt the axe would fall had Wigan struggled in the Easter Monday clash with Harlequins.

The writing was probably on the wall for him midway through his reign last season when the once mighty Warriors suffered humiliating record 70-point defeats in successive weeks at the hands of Leeds and then St Helens in the Challenge Cup.

Brief

Millward leaves with little to show for a brief spell in charge - a time that has been blighted by on and off field problems and rumours of dressing room unrest.

He was at the helm for 318 days with his first game on May 30 resulting in victory over Salford.

But he only won a handful of matches since then and Wigan missed out on the play-offs last season.

This was blamed for John Kear's departure from Hull last week and now Millward goes down the same road.

He was on a lucrative three-year contract and will have to be compensated by Wigan to the region of é250,000.

He won five major trophies during a glorious six-year reign at St Helens but admitted the Wigan job was a far bigger challenge than he anticipated and failed to win over the Warriors fans.

When he took charge, owner Dave Whelan proudly boasted he was delighted to be welcoming the finest coach in world rugby league.

It appeared a marriage made in heaven but there have been problems.

Wigan have won just one game this season and are currently anchored at the foot of Super League with relegation a possibility.

Even so Millward, an MEN sport columnist, believed he was safe and exempt from the sack for at least a year but the Wigan hierarchy clearly begged to differ.

Lindsay spoke with fellow directors, Whelan was contacted at his Spanish holiday home and Millward was to be sacked just 72 hours before the Good Friday derby at St Helens.

What is your verdict on Millward's time at Wigan? Have your say.

Tweet