'Time to push on' says Bowery

BEING a club’s all time record signing – no matter how long for  – can put a monumental amount of pressure on a footballer.

That was the case for Jordan Bowery, who joined the Millers at the beginning of last season for £300,000 from Premier League regulars Aston Villa.

That fee was surpassed with the arrival of Jonson Clarke-Harris just a couple of weeks later, but the fact remained that Bowery was – at one point – Rotherham United’s most expensive signing.

Naturally, big expectations were placed on the 24-year-old’s shoulders and after netting five times last season, he now feels he is ready for what is set to be another tough Championship campaign.

Bowery says: “My aim is to be in that starting 11 as often as possible, get as many goals as I can and help the team and keep trying to progress from last season.

“We don’t want to be in that battle we were in last year, hopefully we can push for mid-table, you’ve got to set your goals high, but there are a lot of good teams in this league.”

Bowery has realised the ongoing demands of life in the second tier, but believes that the Millers have recruited wisely and added that much sought after footballing experience.

He added: “QPR and Burnley have come down, so it’s going to be a tough season, but we’re hopeful of mid-table and we’ll try and get as close to those play-offs as possible.

“Pre-season has gone very well, the lads the manager has brought in look a good bunch and compliment the group that was here before.

“There’s a lot of Championship experience in the players brought in. Danny Collins and Greg Halford have played Premiership football, there’s a lot of experience in there which will be vital.

“They add that Championship knowledge that we didn’t have a lot of last season.

“We tried our best and we stayed up so hopefully we’ve brought these players in to have a good fight and maybe push on a bit more.”