News: New signing for Rotherham United

Rotherham United has appointed Steve Lewis as the club's head of commercial, taking over the department from previous commercial director, Steve Coakley.

Lewis has previously worked in similar roles at Leeds United and Sheffield United and takes over with eight months to go before the new £17.3m stadium opens close to Rotherham town centre.

Lewis told the club's official website: "I have been very impressed with what I have seen and I am really looking forward to getting my feet firmly under the table and starting work.

"I spoke with [chairman] Tony Stewart and he was extremely passionate about having success for Rotherham and for the football club, and that was one of the reasons why I came on board.

"I am looking forward to working with the partners who currently work alongside the Millers, as well as building up relationships with partners elsewhere. I've got plans for a new ticketing structure, amongst a handful of other ways to continue the fine job that has been done by the club prior to my appointment.

"The new stadium was another reason I wanted to come here. This is a great opportunity to work on something that doesn't come around too often, so I am really looking forward to getting involved with that project."

Steve started his career at Leeds United spending almost 11 years with the West Yorkshire club, as sponsorship manager before graduating to the position of head of commercial. He worked for tourism organisation, Welcome to Yorkshire as head of sponsorship before returning to football as head of commercial at Sheffield United.

Tony Stewart has indicated that the new stadium is on schedule for completion on July 11 2012 and that a name will need to be selected before Christmas in order for a successful marketing campaign to take place.

Following a recent illness, Brian Chapple has decided to resign as Community Director of Rotherham United.

The club said in a statement: "We would like to thank Brian for his enthusiasm, passion and commitment to the Club over many years and are pleased to know that we can always call on his wealth of knowledge and experience to help us move forward during these exciting times."

Rotherham United website

Images: themillers.co.uk