A tough little sod, a great little player … Dan Gore and his season with Rotherham United
“YOU haven't hit anyone, have you?”
Dan Gore had just left the interview room and journalists still in there could hear the question through the wall at Rotherham United's Roundwood training base.
The man asking was then-manager Matt Hamshaw who knew as well as anyone what a mean, hard-nosed character the Millers had brought in for their 2025/26 League One campaign.
“Nah, Gaffer, the questions were all okay,” grinned the young Manchester United loanee.
Gore was tough. Gore could play. Gore was one of the best loanees Rotherham have ever had. He looked after a ball just as well as he looked after himself.
He arrived last summer with a little doubt hanging over him. It wasn't about his talent, because everyone could see how gifted he was, it was about his ability to handle a long season in senior football after two previous loans - one of them at AESSEAL New York Stadium - had been severely hit by injuries.
Forty-one games later, that debate was well and truly over.
He was a beaming bright spot in a dark, depressing year that ended in relegation. He could have jumped ship in January when Norwich City wanted him in the division above, but stayed in S60 because he liked the Millers and liked what Hamshaw was trying to build.
To be honest, the Canaries were more his level than Rotherham because he should go on to have a career that is top-end Championship at the very least.
Off the pitch, the 21-year-old was a good lad.
He'd first been interviewed during the season before when Steve Evans brought him to the club. With the cameras on him and voice recorders being placed around him, he'd found it hard going at first. He perked up to some degree as the process went on but still kept his answers short.
This term, it was heart-warming to watch him coming out of his shell and revealing something of himself. Once trust was established, he was more relaxed, with a ready laugh and a quick sense of humour. And his responses were a lot longer!
That was off the pitch. On it, well, that was a different matter.
The Gores are a loving, close-knit clan and Dan had relatives supporting him at most of his Millers match. But his father - also name Dan - hadn't been a soft touch with his son.
“Oh my god, no-one's more honest with me than my dad!” the midfielder laughed. “I could have the best game ever, but if I don't shoot he'll shout and go mad at me! I respect him a lot, so I just listen to him and take it on board.”
What Gore Junior took on board growing up was the need to fight his corner, to never take a backward step.
And, indeed, Rotherham fans quickly came to realise that he always fought his corner, never took a backwards step.
That extended to the training ground where a spat with a senior player ended with the younger man threatening to put the older one on the seat of his shorts. Handbags, pretty routine, no drama, everyone saw the funny side in the end. But it told a story.
Like all genuinely hard people, by the way, he didn't feel the need to flag it up. “It's in me if I need it,” was as much as he ever said.
Gore had a rented place in Sheffield, but his heart was in Manchester where his partner and their little daughter resided. There were trips home every weekend and also on midweek days off and he doted on Nellie who was born last September.
They were all together at New York for the final home match, against Reading.
In possession, he was class. No matter how many opponents were around him, he always found somewhere to go. And I mean always. He could see a pass and deliver it, he could beat a man and then had a burst of pace that saw him stay away from his pursuer.
And, boy, did he like a tackle. A big, big fire raged in that short 5ft 5in frame.
He scored once and it should have been more. He was sent off once and it should have been more. Now and then, he received the benefit of the doubt from referees when hands or elbows were raised.
This was his breakthrough season. Groin, shoulder and ankle issues cost him a few games, but 40-plus matches was an impressive, worthy return.
He was superb for Rotherham and Rotherham were superb for his development. He departed with everyone's respect and best wishes, and we'll all be watching out for him and what he goes on to achieve.
Meanwhile, there was Exeter City away …
The Millers won 4-0 in January when Gore suffered severe shoulder damage in a first-half incident and had to watch the rest of the clash from the dugout.
Towards the end, there was a naughty challenge from - of all people - Ar'Jany Martha, and things kicked off in the players' tunnel at St James Park after the final whistle.
Rotherham's injured man threatened, in no uncertain terms, to sort out a member of the opposition.
His arm was in a sling at the time.