More To Come – But When?

Rotherham United Manager Matt Taylor says the players all have ‘smiles on their faces’ as they carry on with their pre-season training.

Speaking to Radio Sheffield the Millers Boss talked about the four players he’s given one year contracts too – Tyler Blackett, Grant Hall, Sean Morrison and Lee Peltier all who were here last season – saying, ‘even before the end of last season we knew how important that quartet could be. And not just in a playing capacity but a personality capacity too. We don’t feel we’ve seen enough, yet, of Tyler and Sean, and probably Hally, and are looking to see what their best looks like on a more consistent basis. Of course, we are realistic of what they can achieve and where their bodies are at. It’s our job to keep them fit.’

Admitting that none of the deals were straight forward, Matt said, ‘Each one had different suitors elsewhere but one thing I have to point out is that they all wanted to be here. Which is huge as I only want to work with players who want to be here and get this club where we want it to be. I’m delighted that they’ve chosen us as much as we’ve chosen them.’

Asked about the difficulty of finding a replacement for Chieo Ogbene, who made the move to new Premier League boys Luton Town last week, the Boss said, ‘It’s nigh on impossible. We can’t sign a Premier League player of his profile. But it’s still a positive for everyone involved, Chieo going to the Premier League and we’re delighted for him. But it’s also positive for the club.’

And how many more would he like to fetch in this summer?

‘We know there’s work to be done,’ he told Radio Sheffield, ‘and everyone knows we are in the market, but so is every other team at this level. It’s important that we look from within first and foremost and look what players we can improve but then we need to look at the outside world as well. At this stage it’s a tough window for everyone let alone ourselves at Rotherham.

‘We got one over the line today and we are probably looking at half-a-dozen more. Then we’ve got the loan spots to fill and I don’t want to fill them with players who aren’t going to contribute. There are lots of free agents out there and the free agents we are speaking to are coming down from a higher level.’

There’s been rumours flying around since teatime that a ‘keeper has been signed, so expecting that, if right, will be announced tomorrow.

I’m pleased we’ve got players signed in before we start the friendly games and go to the training camp in Spain – would be good to get a couple more in, but, as we know, that’s not always easy to arrange.

I believe Matt Taylor knows exactly what he wants from each player and then as a group of players. And, I think he will get that.