Action man Grant is staying on

The 21-year-old's loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur was up at the end of the month and the extended agreement is a boost for Neil Redfearn.

He has described the energetic midfield man as a “blank canvas”, the sort of young player he can work with and improve.

Ward dipped after a promising pre-season capped with some stunning strikes but his recent displays have turned him into a regular.

And manager Redfearn is sure that Ward has benefited from his spell with the Millers, while learning a lot about himself as a player.

"He’s probably learned about himself, what he can do and what his strengths are," said Redfearn.

"I think what he will take out of this experience is that he has probably convinced himself with his standard of performance and what he is capable of doing.

"Young players learn in different ways, sometimes they need to convince themselves that they can do it at that level, sometimes it is having good experiences.

"He has shown a lot of resilience for a young lad, because he has been in the middle of all of this.

"He was in the middle of the 5-2 defeat against Ipswich and in the middle of the 4-0 win over Bolton, he’s been in the middle of both ends and that’s fantastic experience for him.

"He’s a quiet lad and quite unassuming, but he’s a thinker. He’s an outstanding talent and I think he’s going to get better.

"He’s finding his way at a really tough level."

Ward is under no illusions that there are still areas of his game he can improve on, but is more than happy with his time in South Yorkshire.

“I'm happy with how I'm playing,” says Ward. “I could maybe do with adding a few more goals and assists but overall I feel my performances have got a lot better.

“I feel like I've got more consistent, my lows are not as low and that's a good thing.”