Millwall power struggle

The club have been further unsettled by the resignations from the board of two former Millwall chairmen, Reg Burr and Peter Mead, in a row over the amount of money Paphitis has invested over his eight years in charge.

Burr has also penned a damning article for Millwall fanzine The Lions Roars in which he predicts major financial problems in the months ahead and criticises his former board colleagues.

As a result of his attack, Paphitis and Burnige have told him he's not welcome in the boardroom or directors' box as the row turns increasingly bitter.

Mead, who was chairman when Millwall slid into administration in 1997 before Paphitis helped rescue the club, is also understood to have been aggrieved after a candidate he proposed for chairman instead of Burnige was vetoed.

As if that wasn't enough to contend with, rumours persist, despite denials from Leeds, that Wise will link up with his former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates at Elland Road.

With financial considerations to the fore, Millwall are only too aware that the last manager they sacked, Mark McGhee, was employed by Brighton 13 days after negotiating a substantial settlement on leaving The Den in October 2003.

Wise, meanwhile, maintains that he is unaware of the new chairman's thoughts on his future.

"I don't know what the situation is," he said. "I'll have to wait. I'll get on with my job, I've been told what I have to do and you have to get on with it."

Asked whether he was happy to remain at Millwall, Wise responded: "I'm fine". Burnige, though, is not the only person to stay quiet. Paphitis, who is likely to stand down before the end of the season, has also said nothing, leading some to believe that his successor has been effectively hung out to dry.

To complicate matters further, Wise has fallen out with his assistant Ray Wilkins over the appointment of Dave Bassett to the coaching staff. Although Bassett is said to be temporary, concentrating largely on setpieces, there is little doubt that Wilkins feels undermined.

Given all this, it is hardly surprising that senior players have expressed unease, perhaps fearful that they, like Scott Dobie, will be swiftly moved on.

Wise knows that the financial climate is not good but is realistic about the situation.

He said: "This is the way football has gone and this is the way that Millwall have to go. Obviously they have been in the comfort zone a long, long time because they have had Theo. Theo is not going to be here too much longer and so it changes, unfortunately. "

The decision to resist Stoke's £750,000 bid for Paul Ifill last week suggests the club are not in financial meltdown. But if they fail to close the gap on sixth spot, the board might find it more difficult to refuse another substantial cash offer for any of their more sought-after players, particularly given the pressing need to reduce the wage bill - around £7m - by around £20,000 a week.

Dobie's departure has eased that burden, and should Kevin Muscat choose to return to Australia at the end of the season, as reports in Melbourne suggest, another high-earner would be removed from the pay list.

Wise, however, believes that such constraints make it nigh on impossible for Millwall to challenge for promotion. "I think it will be very difficult and it's going to be even more difficult next year because there are players out there that you want to go and get but unfortunately you can't because of the financial side of it," he added.

Amid such on and off-field turbulence it is easy to lose sight of Wise's achievements at Millwall.

A year ago tomorrow, the south London club secured their place in the FA Cup semi-final, where they would eventually defeat Sunderland before losing to Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium

It is a match that brought European football to The Den, though in the current climate it is difficult to believe that this season will now be particularly recalled for that.