On 28 February 1996, Nicholl was appointed manager of Millwall, who just over two months earlier had been top of Division One but were now sliding down the table. He was unable to arrest the decline and Millwall slipped into Division Two on the last day of the season. He remained at Millwall until the following February, and six months after that returned to Raith Rovers. [citation needed] His second spell at Raith lasted two years, and ended on 14 June 1999 after he had failed to get them back into the top flight.[citation needed]