Alex Bruce's message to fans as he bids to turn around Rotherham United's fortunes

Alex Bruce today delivered a plea to long-suffering Rotherham United supporters, urging them to stick with a newly-built team that is trying to reverse three seasons of decline at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Fans were getting behind the Millers project as there were encouraging signs early in the League Two campaign that progress was being made following the June arrival of the head coach who made 16 signings through the summer.

However, two successive defeats that saw the club drop seven places in eight days to 20th spot have seen some of the old gloom resurface.

"I understand the supporters feeling the way they are," said the boss whose is taking his squad to Fleetwood Town for a Saturday 12.30pm kick-off. "They've had a tough few years.

"I've spoken about it loads of times. I 'get' it that we have a bad result and they think:  'Here we go again, where's this club going to go? The one thing that I have to tell them all is, I can't think like that. I have to remain positive.

"I have got a lot of confidence in the people around me. We're all working very, very hard to get results, and I'm very confident that with this group of players we will go on a good run. That would lift the clouds."

Bruce realised the magnitude of the task he was taking on when head of football Steve McClaren came calling for his services

"Listen, I knew when I took it that it was going to be a tough job," he said. "I was under no illusion whatsoever that I was just going to come in, wave a magic wand and go: 'Right, I'm going to turn momentum in our favour and we'll win every game and hammer every team.' I wish it was as easy as that.

"I believe momentum in sport is a big thing, and we haven't had a good three years here. My  message to the supporters is: 'We're doing everything we can to shift the momentum, and I need your help with that. I want you to get behind the team, I know it's difficult at times but if we're going to be successful we need to be successful together.'"

The Millers, now 10 games into their programme, aree seeking to hit back from an October 3 1-0 loss at Exeter City and last weekend's 4-1 home reverse against Gillingham when they face Fleetwood.

Bruce says the mood at Roundwood has been good this week and he is anticipating a response against 16th-placed opposition.

"When you have bad results, you have to roll your sleeves up and just get through it," he said. "It might take a scruffy 1-0 win, a scruffy goal to instil that little bit of confidence.

"I have to say, the group have trained well all week. I had them in on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, let them have a recovery day on Wednesday, and they've been in today and they'll be in on Friday.

"We've worked a lot. We've had a clear week to put some work into the players, which has been pleasing. Hopefully they can take something out of that and put it into practice on Saturday.

"I think I can lean on what I see every day, and that's a good group, an honest group. They're a young group, and they will be affected by moans and groans and negativity. Players respond to supporters getting right behind them. But we have to give the fans something to shout about as well."

The boss wants to see a return to the standards of the first eight games which had left Rotherham only four points away from the play-off reckoning.

"We showed a resilience, we showed certain things that we've been working on - compactness of the group, a defensive unit, a never-say-die attitude," he said. "Let's not forget that recently we went to Northampton Town and won 1-0 and we were all thinking: 'Have the clouds been lifted?' Then we had a bad week.

"We need to show fight. When you go to Fleetwood, you have to have a little bit of that."