Why Rotherham United are training at AESSEAL New York Stadium and not Roundwood

ROTHERHAM United are holding training sessions at AESSEAL New York Stadium as they negotiate the final stages of their second-tier survival run-in.

They have moved from their regular base at Roundwood so work can begin on the two pitches there in readiness for next season.

Manager Matt Taylor is keen to see improvements made to the surfaces as he believes their softness are partly responsible for the glut of injuries to hit the Millers in the present campaign.

“Our stadium pitch is good enough for Championship football, our training ones aren’t,” he said.

“Soft surfaces are a danger to body parts, especially muscles. But we’re not just getting muscles injuries, we’re picking up other bits and pieces as well.

“There are areas of those two pitches that we shouldn’t train on because it’s totally different to what we play on at a weekend. Players are going back and forth. It causes fatigue in them and that puts stress on their next action.”

Drainage issues are believed to be behind the problem at Roundwood and no fingers are being pointed at head groundsman Dave Fellowes and his team. Fellowes has won awards for the quality of the New York surface and is considered one of the best practitioners in his field.

The number of first-teamers who have been sidelined this season or are playing while nursing ailments is well into double figures and Taylor, who took the hot-seat in October, says the injury situation is the worst he’s experienced in his near-five-year career in management.

The boss believes the relentless quest to remain out of the bottom three while coming up against established second-tier teams with huge budgets is another reason for the size of the casualty list.

“If we’re trying our hardest just to stay above water, bodies are always going to break a little bit,” he said. “It’s been a constant.

“There’s a little bit of a recruitment aspect as well. The body-hardened Championship players are the ones who cost the most money and are so difficult to obtain. Obviously we’re looking to do that in the future.”