Luton's League One rivals Plymouth left 'disappointed' as boss heads to Schalke

Luton’s League One rivals Plymouth Argyle are looking for a new manager after confirming that Miron Muslic has left to join 2. Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04.

The Austrian only moved to Home Park in January, replacing Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney, as he had 23 matches in charge, including a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road, plus a memorable 1-0 FA Cup victory over Liverpool, but despite an upturn in form, he couldn’t help the Pilgrims from dropping into the third tier along with Cardiff City and the Hatters, finishing second from bottom.

He has now opted to move to Germany though as discussing his departure, a clearly annoyed Argyle chairman Simon Hallett told the club’s official website: “We are disappointed at Miron Muslic’s departure – not at his joining a club with a profile such as Schalke, but in the timing and manner of his leaving. We hired Miron in January, giving him a three-and-a-half-year contract.

"Shortly after his joining us, we also hired the staff he requested, in an assistant head coach, head of elite performance, performance analysis and, a little later, a set-piece coach. A recruitment team was in place for the season, augmented by our securing the services of Stuart Webber, a very experienced and well-regarded Sporting Director, to assist with the post-season rebuild of our squad, along with Tom Randle, who has subsequently joined us on a full-time basis as Head of Recruitment.

“After the season ended, and with rumours flying that Miron was attracting interest from other clubs, I called him personally and he assured me that he was 100% committed to Argyle. As a result, Miron continued to take part in all recruitment meetings and was involved with interviewing and recruiting players until just last week. His colleagues had no indication that he wanted to leave.

“Last Saturday, Miron informed the club that he wished to speak with Schalke with a view to joining them. Under his contract, a club wishing to speak with him needs Argyle’s prior permission. We were unwilling to give such permission, but Miron informed us that under no circumstances was he going to return to Plymouth. Thus, we reluctantly gave the necessary permission.

“By making clear his intention never to return, Miron gave us no choice but to move on. We could have insisted on the full compensation and gone to court to enforce his contract but would not have had his services as head coach, and progress on recruiting a replacement would have been blocked. Rather than get mired in a protracted, and highly disruptive, process we settled for an amount of compensation that, while below the contracted sum, is a strong financial outcome for a League One head coach, enabling us to move on positively.”