Economics graduate Duncan Watmore working on the Rotherham United survival maths

So the new boy can work out better than most the numbers required to keep Rotherham United in the League One as he strives to bring his influence to bear on their fight to stay up.

The 31-year-old's qualifications will stand him in good stead if he ever seeks a career away from football.

For now, though, the deadline-day signing with a Premier League and Championship pedigree is focused only on securing third-tier survival at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

“First and foremost, we've got to stay positive,” said the attacker who brought a nine-month spell as a free agent to an end by agreeing terms until the close of the campaign.

“It's easy to get your heads down, go inwards. You don't achieve anything doing that. It has to be brave, it has to be positive. everyone has to want the ball, everyone has to fight, everyone has to show up with a positive attitude.”

Until becoming a Miller, Watmore had spent most of his life in the top flight and Championship with Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Millwall.

At times, he's looked far too good for League One in his first six weeks in South Yorkshire and his presence offers reason for optimism that Rotherham can escape the bottom four.

He's settled in well and has no ‘big time’ qualms about operating at a level below what he's used to.

“I really enjoy playing for this manager, I really enjoy playing for his staff and I really enjoy the group of lads in the changing room.

“We're clearly in a very challenging position and the only way you stand up to that is by sticking together, showing up, being brave and just trying to do the right things.

“You can't guarantee you're going to play well. Football is not like that - you might have a day where you lose the ball more than you'd like to and then other days when you're really good and you don't really know the difference.

“But what you can guarantee is the kind of approach, mentally, to go in and try to win the game and do everything right, and that's what we've got to do.

“I'm enjoying the club and everything around it, and the fans have been great with me. But, obviously, I'd be enjoying it a lot more if we were winning more, that's the brutal honesty.”

Watmore studied at Newcastle University when he was a Sunderland player and earned his economics qualification in 2015 when he was 21.

Six year later, he completed his Masters course at the University of York after he'd moved on to Middlesbrough.

He wants to make the most of what time he has left as a player and, this term, he and his teammates have 11 matches left to save their season.

Goals been a problem, with only two coming in the club's seven outings, and supporters have voiced their frustration.

“We have to improve in creating clear-cut chances,” the striker said. “Not just hopeful balls, we want to do it with structure and pattern, and that's what the manager and the coach have been working on. They've been brilliant with us. We're all fully behind them. We're such a strong group.

“I understand football, I understand that when you're not getting the results you need, you're going to come under criticism. I'm no stranger to that in my career. That's something we have to face up to and accept. I fully accept it. The only way you get out of it is by fronting up to it.”

He suffered the drop twice with Sunderland – from the top flight to the Championship and then straight down to the third tier in 2017 and 2018 – and doesn't want a hat-trick of relegations on his CV.

The key, he reckons, is to never lose faith in your own abilities and those of the people around you.

“When you're in a tough run, small things make such a big difference, and they sometimes go against you,” he said. “When you're winning, football is the easiest thing in the world and things go for you. I've seen that my whole career.

“There's not always a magic button that switches it. From my experience, it's the process, it's keeping believing in yourself and it's just gradual improvement. Then those things start turning for you, the results start turning and you build on that.

“It really does have to come from within. You have to double down on the positivity. I see a group willing to do that.”

So far, Watmore has been available for every game since his arrival. Before committing himself to Rotherham, he'd trained with Stockport County and been on trial with Sheffield Wednesday, improving his conditioning following a February 2025 hip operation and his long break from club duty.

Too many 90-minute outings are out of the question for a senior pro with a chequered fitness record, but his undoubted quality could still prove crucial during the run-in.

At my age, your body catches up with you a bit,” he said. “I'm grateful to be here and to be playing football and having an opportunity to play. I just want to help the team win. That is, ultimately, why I'm here.”

His initial university course, by the way, brought him a first-class grading, his second earned him a distinction.

Which is just how he hopes his short-term Millers stay comes to a conclusion in early May.