Three and not so easy for Millers in the second tier

Rotherham are trying to achieve something they have not managed in 12 years when Wolves visit New York Stadium on Saturday and fate is on their side.

After beating Leeds and Bristol City in their last two games, Neil Redfearn's men go in search of a third successive Championship win.

The Millers have not been able to achieve that feat since their return to this level 18 months ago, with their current run of two wins and a similar sequence in Steve Evans' last two games in charge back in September the best they have managed.

Instead you have to go back to the 2003-04 campaign for the last time Rotherham won three second-tier games in a row, when Ronnie Moore's men rattled off victories against Walsall, Coventry and Wimbledon.

That victory against the Dons, who had just relocated to Milton Keynes, left them 17th in the then Division One and it was followed by a draw and two more wins as the Millers enjoyed life with the big boys.

Redfearn's men will be hoping to follow suit on Saturday against Kenny Jackett's out-of-form Wolves as they aim to move out of the relegation zone for the first time since early October.

And they will be buoyed by a strange quirk of the fixture list, which may just be a good omen.

The date of that win at Wimbledon - secured by Shaun Barker and Martin McIntosh goals - was December 6 2003.

And the date on Saturday is December 5, the equivalent Saturday of the season, and if that is not an omen, then we don't know what is.

If the Millers don't manage to get that elusive third win, then it will be the 53rd time that they have recorded back-to-back wins in the second tier in 26 seasons at that level.

A very merry Christmas is on the cards if the Millers beat their all-time winning record in the second tier, though it will take some doing.

The 1981/82 side famously won nine games in a row under Emlyn Hughes, seven in February and one in March to climb up to third in the division.