Grant Hall had other options so why did he choose a deal with Rotherham United?

GRANT Hall turned down approaches from other clubs in favour of signing for Rotherham United for a second time.  

The centre-half spent last season on loan with the Millers as they secured their Championship safety and has now joined them on a full deal following the expiry of his contract at Middlesbrough.

The chance to play in the second tier and his bond with manager Matt Taylor were two reasons why he chose to extend his stay at AESSEAL New York Stadium for a further year.

"I always wanted to come back here," he told the Advertiser. "There were a couple of other conversations elsewhere but I just felt this was the right place for me.

"Playing Championship football is important to me and where the gaffer wants to take the club and his vision for it is something I wanted to be part of."

The 31-year-old was originally signed by previous boss Paul Warne who left for Derby County and was replaced by Taylor in October.

The new manager kept the Millers in the second tier for the first time and is now looking to build on last term's 19th-placed, 50-point finish.

"I have a great relationship with the gaffer,” Hall said. "The club is going in the right direction under him. I spoke to him at the end of last season and he was keen for me to return. It was just a case of getting the details sorted."

The defender, who has spent virtually all of his career with Championship teams, was officially confirmed as a Millers player last Saturday but the announcement came as no surprise to supporters.

Rotherham teammate Cameron Humphreys had unwittingly let the cat out of the bag earlier in the week by posting pictures on one of his social-media accounts of the pair in pre-season training together.

"Yeah, Cam went a bit early with the news," the former Queens Park Rangers man grinned. "It had become the worst-kept secret in football by the time it was confirmed. No harm was done, though, and I'm just delighted to get things over the line."

Hall managed only 21 appearances in his first year in S60 because of hamstring injuries but he showed real quality when he did play.

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NEW boy Grant Hall loved last week yet was still glad to see the back of it! 

The centre-half was delighted to be making a permanent return to Rotherham United after last season's loan but it coincided with the first few days of pre-season.

And that, as any pro will tell you, meant plenty of pain as the summer cobwebs were being brushed away.

“No player likes pre-season - we all hate it - because it's so tough,” Hall smiled.

However, the 31-year-old totally understands the value of putting in the effort for a six-week spell before the Championship campaign gets under way.

“A good pre-season sets the foundation for the season," he said. “You need it. When you don't have one, you tend to pick up injuries.”

He knows that only too well from last year's experience when he was out of favour at parent club Middlesbrough and didn't have the fitness grounding he would have liked before becoming a loanee at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The defender was subsequently affected by hamstring issues while he was with the Millers. An impressive performer when he was available for selection, he was restricted to 21 outings.

“I hadn't had pre-season last year and I hadn't played a lot of football for Boro in the season before that,” he said. “I'm looking to have a full pre-season now and if I can do that then I think I'll be fine.

“The hamstring is fully healed and I'm ready to go. I'm looking forward to the new campaign.”