Huddersfield Town academy chief Mark Lillis says he’s flattered to be linked with the Scunthorpe managerial vacancy – but is happy in his current job.
The League II club, who currently have Town striker Jimmy Spencer on loan, parted company with ex-Town defender Brian Laws in the wake of Tuesday’s FA Cup defeat by Grimsby.
Lillis, 53, is both a former player and assistant manager at Scunthorpe.
He has managed Halifax and has broad coaching experience, having also worked at Macclesfield, Derby, Stockport and Morecambe as well as for Northern Ireland.
Lillis, right, is in his third spell at Town after both playing for the club (for eight years between 1977-85) and working as youth team coach in the mid-nineties.
It’s two years since he became academy manager, and he has won many admirers, with the Under 18s currently top of the Professional Development League II North section having lost just once in 12 games ahead of tomorrow’s away game at Barnsley (11.00).
Town have also achieved their aim of gaining academy category two status under the new Elite Player Performance Plan during Lillis’ tenure.
Lillis also had a stint as Town caretaker manager after the departure of Simon Grayson last season, presiding over five games, including a crucial home Championship win over Crystal Palace, a draw with league leaders Cardiff and an FA Cup fourth-round victory at Leicester.
“I have connections with Scunthorpe going back a long way, and I suppose that’s where these stories have come from,” he said. “But I have a big and enjoyable job here and I consider it very much a work in progress.
“When I got the job, (chairman) Dean Hoyle said to me ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day – but it did get done’ and I’ve used that as my motivation.”
Other names being linked with the Scunthorpe job include Danny Wilson, Nick Barmby, Paul Jewell and former Iron players Steve Housham (boss of Gainsborough Trinity), Ian Baraclough (manager of Sligo Rovers) and Andy Crosby (assistant to former Scunthorpe chief Nigel Adkins at Reading).
Meanwhile ex-Town academy coach Steve Marsella, from Fartown, has, as expected, followed manager Terry Butcher and his assistant Maurice Malpas from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to their Scottish Premiership rivals Hibs, where he will combine chief scout and goalkeeping coach duties.
