Looking for answers...The final part of our series

IN the final part our three piece series, chief operating officer Paul Douglas spoke to fans in last week's Advertiser.
The original interview in last week's AdvertiserThe original interview in last week's Advertiser
The original interview in last week's Advertiser

You can read part one of our series, a pre-season interview with chairman Tony Stewart and chief operating officer Paul Douglas, by clicking here.

You can read part two of our series, an interview with Paul Douglas from the beginning of December, by clicking here.

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Here is a piece that was originally printed on last week's back page:

THE powers-that-be at Rotherham United have vowed to get the club pointing in the right direction again – and have denied it is about to spiral into decline.

The plight at the foot of the Championship, a lightweight squad, the recruitment policy and uncertainties about who will lead the team in the long term are worrying supporters and many feel the club has lost direction.

Speaking to the Advertiser this week, chief operating officer Paul Douglas admits mistakes have been made and that the task for clubs of Rotherham's size gets even harder.

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But he also said that no-one, not least chairman Tony Stewart, had given up on the season and even if it does end in a drop to League One, there was enough determination and know-how at the New York Stadium to turn things around.

“Nobody is saying we've had a few good years and now we're going to have a few bad years. It's not like that,” said Douglas.

“It's an unforgiving division we find ourselves in and we're in amongst some very big clubs. Even if we had got everything right, we would have had all on. It only needs a few signings who don't quite settle as you hope and you can find yourselves in quite big difficulty – and a lot bigger clubs have found that.

“Nothing that has happened has been deliberate, nothing that has happened has been due to negligence. It's down to a few bad decisions in a very unforgiving division.

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“Our enthusiasm isn't dimmed and Tony's certainly isn't. He's gutted, he's hurting and we all are. 

“It's a horrible experience to be losing games but we haven't lost any commitment to put this right, and we will put it right.

“If we're too late to do it this season, we'll make sure next season is a good one, but what we need is for everybody to keep supporting the club. 

“We need people to keep coming along and keep backing us to put things right.”

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Rotherham host Barnsley tomorrow effectively ten points from the safety line with 19 games to go.

Added Douglas: “We certainly have not written this season off and I will ask people to remember this. Neil Warnock came in last year with three games less than there are now. 

“I would agree to stay up was possibly a once-in-a-liftetime achievement but we have done it once and maybe we can do it again.”

Here is a piece that was printed within a special report in last week's Advertiser sports pages:

BY PAUL DOUGLAS

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IT is easy to take it for granted that under Tony Stewart we have had some fabulous times. 

We've come from literally nearly going out of business to overcoming points deductions, moving into an incredible facility, none of which was met through grants but from Tony himself.

He funded a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get out of League Two, one of which got us to Wembley, followed by back-to-back promotions and here we are competing in the Championship for the third season in some exalted company.

Even if we get everything right, it's still going to always be hard.

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People can overlook the fact that in the three years we have been in the Championship, we've gone from a situation where clubs were allowed to lose £6 million in the first year without being embargoed, to the second year when clubs were suddenly allowed to lose £13 million to the current situation where you are allowed to lose £39 million over three seasons.

The amount clubs are being allowed to spend has got out of all proportion in that time and the amount going to those coming down from the Premier League has also increased disproportionately.

Clubs coming down having had more than a year in the Premier are guaranteed £87 million over three years, £40 million of which comes in your first year and £31 million in the second.

These are numbers that clubs like ours are trying to compete against. 

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It's not easy but at the same time it's something we shouldn't be too down about because it's a challenge you want to meet.

We have to strive to be as efficient as we can with the money at our disposal, make sure it's optimised when we go into the transfer market and ensure we're developing players ourselves and have a strategy for the long, medium and short term.

It's not all about jam tomorrow. There's no point signing too many young players without the support of more experienced players to help them.

But at the same putting an emphasis on bringing young players through of a certain type who suit the Rotherham brand of football is something we are now committed to.

There is certainly pressure on player wages. 

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Every time there is an increase in funding to the Football League or a relaxation in spending controls, guess what? That money has gone to the players.

We are spending more than ever. The budget here is the highest in the club's history, certainly higher than in my time at the club.

Looking further field, you only have to see the type of ownership that exists in the Championship and how it has changed over the last ten years. Look at our near neighbours. Sheffield Wednesday are owned entirely by foreign parties and I have no issue with that, but they are a club with a clear agenda to get in the Premier League. Sheffield United also have foreign involvement.

That's where the game has gone and where it is moving. Will it last? I don't know.

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All I know is that having a guy like we've got, a local guy committed to the football club and has shown that commitment through his spending over the last seven or eight years and whose enthusiasm has not dimmed one iota, give me that every day because I don't believe Tony Stewart will ever go away in a hurry because it's his pride, his home, where his friends and family live.

The Advertiser liased with the club before Christmas about the possibility of holding a fans' forum, with us hosting it. The club told us they were already planning a meeting with RUST. The intention is still to hold a full fans' forum before the end of the current season, and we will keep you up to date with details as and when we have them.

You can read part one of our series, a pre-season interview with chairman Tony Stewart and chief operating officer Paul Douglas, by clicking here.

You can read part two of our series, an interview with Paul Douglas from the beginning of December, by clicking here.