Captain Richard Wood on his Rotherham United future after nine years with the club

Richard Wood after the survival match against Middlesbrough. Picture by Kerrie Beddows

CAPTAIN Richard Wood has yet to hear whether he will be offered the chance to extend his stay with Rotherham United into a tenth year.

The Millers’ longest-serving player fell down the pecking order this season under new boss Matt Taylor and hadn’t played since January until he returned five games ago to play his part in the successful pursuit of Championship safety.

“I don’t know,” he said when he was asked about his future after Monday’s survival-sealing 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. “We’ll see what happens.”

The 37-year-old centre-half is at the end of his contract and the likelihood is that he will leave the club he joined from Charlton Athletic back when Steve Evans was the manager in 2014.

If he does depart, the victory over Boro at AESSEAL New York Stadium and the response at the end from fans who sang his famous ‘Magic’ song while he stood in front of them with his two sons provided a fitting send-off for a player who has achieved legendary status in S60.

“After Christmas, I didn’t think I’d be involved again,” he said. “I just stayed professional, worked hard and waited for my chance.

“I’ve loved it here. I’ve had a lot of lows, don’t get me wrong, but the highs override them by far. I’ve had some unbelievable moments.”

Rotherham, who moved out of the reach of third-bottom Reading by beating Boro, head to the DW Stadium this Monday for a last-day clash at Wigan Athletic where the skipper will summon up one final effort.

“I want to win next week, I want to win all the time,” he said. “But it’s nice to have that edge taken off. We can enjoy training this week.”