by Wigan, when all the injured players returned. He repeated the trick in another match against Bradford over Easter 2004, claiming a heavy fixture burden had taken its toll. St Helens were well beaten in the game at Odsal Stadium and the fall-out overshadowed the rest of the club's season. It later emerged that two St Helens players, Sean Long and Martin Gleeson, had bet on their side to lose before the team was announced. Both were later banned and the Rugby Football League (RFL) tightened up rules by insisting squads had to be named 72 hours in advance. Millward's St Helens career also ended controversially after he was suspended pending a disciplinary hearing in May 2005. He was sacked for gross misconduct a week later, his offences including three incidences of foul and abusive language: to a club employee; Warrington's press officer; and a fourth official at a match against Bradford. St Helens also claimed that Millward lied to an RFL disciplinary hearing and distorted the truth about the club's sale of Gleeson to Warrington in 2004. Within a fortnight, Millward was at Wigan Warriors as head coach above Denis Betts. He had a difficult start with Wigan, losing a Super League match 70-0 to Leeds Rhinos and, more humiliatingly, a Challenge Cup tie at St Helens 75-0. Wigan ended the season seventh in the Super League, missing out on the play-offs for the first time in the competition and club's history. After a disastrous start to the 2006 Super League, Millward was relieved of his duties as head coach of Wigan on 11 April 2006. During this time, a combination of poor performances and injuries to key players had seen Wigan slump to bottom of the engage Super League. Wigan had won just one of eight league games. The club issued this statement: "Following a meeting of the board of directors the Wigan club can confirm that head coach Ian Millward has been dismissed with immediate effect. Ian will be leaving the club and team affairs will be managed in the short term by the assistant coaches Stuart Wilkinson and Andrew Farrar." He was replaced the following week by then Bradford Bulls coach, Brian Noble. Millward enjoyed some time away from rugby league after being sacked by Wigan but later in 2006 he returned to the club where he started his English coaching career to become coaching co-ordinator