Two players who Rotherham United want to sign new deals

The pair are coming to the end of their present three-year deals and the club can activate 12-month extensions when the season draws to a close in May.

Rotherham would rather take things a stage further and will seek to persuade two of their key men to commit to longer stays in South Yorkshire.

Boss Leam Richardson confirmed to the Advertiser that midfield man Rathbone and midfielder/centre-half Odoffin will have offers put in front of them.

“They've been here for a long time and are very integrated in the club,” he said. “That's the type of person, the type of player Rotherham are about.

“We'll certainly sit down with them at the right time and we'll speak about the future.”

Talks have yet to take place as the relegation-bound Millers make plans for life in League One next term.

There were discussions with Rathbone last summer during the managerial tenure of Matt Taylor and the player thought an agreement was close. However, negotiations then halted and have remained dormant.

He has a League One promotion, Papa Johns Trophy silverware and last year's second-tier survival on his CV, as does Odoffin who has excelled as a central defender since moving into the backline earlier in this campaign.

A number of other players are approaching the expiry of their contracts and virtually all of them are expected to depart.

Richardson, who succeeded Taylor in December, will have already decided which members of his squad are to be released at the end of the Championship season but has publicly left the door ajar for one or two to convince him they're worth keeping on.

“Commitment is a big thing,” he said. “They have to show they want to commit to the club and the club have to want to commit to them.

“If you do that, you should become a positive organisation. Whether or not we've been doing that over the last 12 to 18 months ... it's something I'm aware of and something I want to change.”