"We have to keep going," says Newell

ROTHERHAM United’s Joe Newell insists there are points to be had in the New Year if the side can keep up the competitive streak introduced by caretaker boss Paul Warne.

The midfield man admitted last night’s 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Burton Albion was a disappointment to everyone and the Millers now find themselves ten points from Championship safety – a gap that could increase by the time they visit Leeds United on Monday.

The odds might be stacked against a rescue act but with 22 games to go, Newell says Rotherham need to take their latest setback on the chin and move on quickly.

"It was roles reversed against Burton, they set up like we usually do and it was a good away performance from them,” he said. “As much as we dominated for long spells, we didn’t really create enough clear cut chances in the second half. We had half-chances but nothing we could really take something from.

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“It was disappointing but we go again on Monday. We’ve had two wins from Warney’s six games and in every game there has only been one goal in it. We’re a lot more competitive now, there’s not a lot in the matches that we’re losing or winning and we just have to keep going. If we keep performances up to the level of the last month then results will turn in our favour.”

Newell scored Rotherham’s goal in last season’s 1-0 league win at Elland Road but the fixture is a tougher proposition this time. Much improved Leeds won this season's first meeting at the New York Stadium recently and are up to fourth in the table after last night’s draw at Aston Villa.

“It’s a big game, something we can all look forward to,” added Newell. “We’re playing another team we played not long ago so we’ll have a look how we did against them last time and go there with confidence, we’ve got no reason not to be. As frustrating as it was against Burton, we are playing well, that’s the bottom line.”