A new year is on the horizon
and it’s always a time to reflect on the 12 months just gone by, but also a chance to
look forward.
People will be making also
sort of vows and promises to improve their life and Rotherham United will be no
different.
Their ultimate, number one
new year resolution will be, of course, to achieve Sky Bet Championship safety.
Doing that would make the first half of 2016 very satisfying.
But here are several smaller
resolutions that the Millers should be making to reach their overall goal.
Come back from behind
One of Rotherham’s best
attributes over the last few years has been strikingly absent this season –
fighting back from losing positions. Their promotion to the
Championship was built on an ability to come from behind and they took that
into last season as well, winning 12 points from losing positions. However,
that is something the Millers have been unable to replicate this season as in
their opening 24 games they have picked up a solitary point when conceding the
first goal. That came against Reading where they battled back for
a 1-1 draw. The Millers don’t have a problem when scoring first, they have won six
of the eight games where they have taken the lead, but they need to rediscover
their ability to get something from losing positions.
Draw more games
Rotherham’s inability to
respond when they are behind has meant that they have lost far too many games
and as a result have not kept the steady flow of points ticking over with
draws. That was another calling card of their survival last season – they drew
16 of their 46 games. This season has seen only three stalemates in 24 and
there have been many occasions where the Millers should have got at least a
point from a game they ended up losing - see Nottingham Forest, Brentford,
Wolves and Blackburn. That is something the Millers have to improve on.
Cut out the horror shows
Rotherham’s quest to get away
from the relegation zone, where they have most of the season, has been
undermined by a horror show every four or five games. You know the type, a game where they have been
so far off the pace, not competed, not put the effort in and left everyone
thinking relegation is a certainty. It started off on the opening day of the
season, with a capitulation against MK Dons, and they have never been far away,
with games against Fulham, Ipswich and Huddersfield not ones for the highlights
reel. The frustrating thing is that most of those performances have come
against opposition that the Millers will have been targeting to take some
points off. The Millers can ill-afford too many more of these.
Tighten up before half-time
There’s never a good time to
concede, but doing so on the brink of half-time has to be one of the worst. But
unfortunately the Millers have a nasty habit of doing that this season and it
has always had a negative effect on the game. They have shipped a whopping
seven goals in between minutes 40-45 and they have only gone on to pick up
three points – in the 2-1 win over Cardiff – when it has happened. Two of
them have been wiping out leads, three of the goals have been to put the
Millers behind, with the other two extending leads of the opposition. All of
them have been team-talk changers, though, and proved crucial. Tightening up
just before the interval is a definite area that Rotherham must do better at.
Improve away form
Rotherham are always going to
find life difficult on the road in this division. They are travelling to
massive clubs with massive support. They are always the underdogs and there
have been times where it has not been a level playing field – the trips to
Derby, Brighton and Middlesbrough is evidence of that. But their overall record
this season has been debilitating, having lost nine games, which is the joint
worst in the division. They have picked up just seven points on the road and three
from their last eight games. While they seem to have discovered a way of
winning at home under Redfearn, they have to be find a way of picking points up
on the road if they are to stay up.
