Conference League boss who was in Chelsea and Arsenal’s academies could become Championship manager

Shamrock Rovers head coach Stephen Bradley continues to be linked to the Millwall vacancy, but insists his current focus is elsewhere.

The Irishman is flying in his ninth season with the iconic League of Ireland side, adding to his four league titles with a run in Europe this term.

Having previously made it to the Champions League qualifying rounds Rovers are now excelling in the Conference League sitting sixth in the table which would guarantee progress to the last 16.

Such performance has drawn interest from London, where Millwall are seeking a new manager after Neil Harris announced his decision to step down.

With speculation intensifying around Bradley, the 40-year-old candidly made it clear where his focus lies.

“I have had a number of approaches over the last 18 months from clubs, but I have also made it very clear that my son has been battling cancer and that’s my number one priority and has been,” he explained.

“Thankfully and hopefully we are nearly finished with that, but until that time, like I said, it's really flattering to have the interest and clubs wanting to speak to you. But my son, my family and his illness comes before anything, and nothing will ever change that."

Bradley comes from an interesting background, having moved from his native Dublin as a child to join Chelsea’s academy before a switch to Arsenal.

He didn’t make an appearance under Arsene Wenger in north London, but had a fine career back home and represented his country’s youth teams as a midfielder.

Now, two decades on from first moving to England with Chelsea, he’s preparing for a reunion with the Stamford Bridge side in Europe when they face off in west London on Thursday evening.

With Millwall just a short trip away in the capital, questions will understandably intensify about a move to the Championship, but for now Bradley isn’t distracted.

“If I sat here and said I was speaking to x, y and z, I think that would be really disrespectful to my club and my players,” he said. “That’s not how we operate and that’s not how I operate.

“My only focus this week has been preparing the team for Chelsea. I understand people talk and there is speculation, but I can’t control that, I don’t want to, it is what it is. All I can control is getting these men prepared as best we can.

“I’m genuinely flattered by the interest in me that has been shown in the last two years but I keep repeating, Josh is Number one, my family is number one, but Josh’s treatment is number one and that’s not going to change any time soon.

“Do I want better myself and be the best manager I can be and challenge myself? Of course I do, 100 per cent I do. But for that to happen, everything has to be right. 

“I’m 40, I’m not 60 and thinking ‘it has to happen tomorrow’. I’m still developing, still learning, let’s see what the future holds for me.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of teams approach me over the past two years and the message has been the same. We’ve had conversations, I’ve been very thankful but my son’s treatment is my priority. 

“We’re nearly there, nearly done but hand on heart my focus is on this team coming up against one of the best teams in Europe.”

Bradley also went on to discuss his relationship with former club Chelsea, and his move to rivals Arsenal.

"It’s brilliant for my family to be at the game," he added. "They have seen old pictures of me at home from when I played for Chelsea.

“It’s the first club I came to as a boy. I spent many years here and trained here with some great players. Chelsea was a club I was at since the age of 10.

"I trained here with some of the club legends, (Roberto) Di Matteo, John Terry, Gianfranco Zola. I remember them quite fondly. They were brilliant times. When you walk back in and back up the steps (at Stamford Bridge), a lot comes flooding back to you.

“It was a tough one at the time to turn them down, but Liam Brady at Arsenal was special at his job at that point in time, academy director. He got what it took to make a big club like Arsenal feel like a family."

As for Millwall, the Championship side are currently on a three game losing run, dropping them to 13th in the table when a solid start suggested they could challenge for the play-offs once again.

Starting that slide was a 1-0 defeat to Coventry on December 7, after which Harris sealed his fate by calling supporters ‘thickos’.

Nevertheless, he stayed on to oversee their next two defeats before parting ways ahead of the Christmas period.