, The five longest-serving Championship managers

The five longest-serving Championship managers

3. Dean Smith (Brentford) – 2 years, 2 months and 28 days

The Bees currently find themselves five points adrift of the Sky Bet Championship play-off spots. However it has not always been quite as successful under Smith’s guidance.

The London side have plyed their trade in England’s second division since promotion to the Championship in 2014. When Smith was appointed in November 2015, the Bees were trying to follow up the successes of their previous season – where they achieved a 5th place finish in their inaugral season in the Championship.

Under Smith’s guidance the Bees finished a creditable ninth, missing out on the play-offs by nine points. A season later Smith’s side dropped further down the table, this time finishing tenth and sixteen points behind Fulham who occupied the final play-off spot.

2. Neil Harris (Millwall) – 2 years, 9 months and 30 days

Having been a fan-favourite during his playing days with the Lions, the appointment of Harris as manager in March 2015 proved incredibly popular.

When Harris took the role at The Den, he inherited a side fighting against relegation from the Sky Bet Championship. A lack of managerial experience saw the Lions relegated from England’s second tier, finishing six points adrift of safety.

However, the following season Harris guided the London side to a fourth place finish. The Lions successfully navigated past Bradford City in the play-off semi finals with a 4-2 aggregate win, however Harris’ side were beaten comfortably 3-1 by Barnsley at Wembley.

Skip forward twelve months and the Lions were back in the play-offs after finishing sixth in Sky Bet League One. A 3-2 aggregate win over Scunthorpe United saw the Lions return to Wembley, where they would play the side they knocked out the play-offs the season before – Bradford City. The Bantams were left disappointed though as Steve Morison scored in the 85th minute to send the Lions back into the Sky Bet Championship.

This season the Lions were aiming for surival, however their season has been a success so far. Sitting in a comfortable mid-table position, the London side seem to be unthreatened by relegation and seven points adrift of the play-off spots.

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