Grant Hall, the defender making a Championship difference to Rotherham United

The centre-half has just turned in a man-of-the-match performance at Preston North End to help Rotherham keep the Lilywhites at bay.

My lad has been watching and, unaware that I’ll be interviewing Hall a few minutes later, sends me a message about the summer signing.

“Tell him ‘Thanks from me’,” says the player with a grin that shows off what manager Paul Warne describes as “the best teeth in football”.

It’s a happy start to the interview. It’s been a happy start to Hall’s Millers career.

He’s been brought in on a season-long loan as Rotherham seek to gain a foothold in the Championship at the fourth attempt. “Nous,” says Warne. “Experience. Leadership.”

As we chat pitchside in a blustery corner at Deepdale near the changing rooms on a Tuesday evening, the 30-year-old has yet to taste defeat with his new club.

He will go on to impress again the following Saturday in a draw at old club QPR and, fitness permitting, is a certainty to start Saturday’s clash at home to Birmingham City.

Hall, after several years with Rangers and two at Middlesbrough, knows the division.

“It’s one of the toughest leagues,” he says. “Everyone beats everyone in this league. There will be times in this season when we go through tough spells and we just have to bounce back from them.

“I think it’s a stronger league than it was last season with the teams that have come down from the Premier League and the ones that have come up from League One.

“All we can do is focus on ourselves and what we can do in each game. There are going to be highs, there are going to be lows.”

Rotherham have nicked a draw in Lancashire, earned their draw. Some of the defending in the face of a second-half bombardment has bordered on the heroic.

“At the end of the night, it’s a great point, all things considered,” Hall says. “We probably would have taken that before the match.

“It’s a great group of lads. Everyone sticks together, everyone wants to do the f*cking best that they can.”

The ‘f’ word wasn’t what the Radio Sheffield reporter was hoping to hear. “Oops, sorry for swearing,” Hall apologises. “Can you cut that bit out?”

He’s an affable bloke, much warmer than the Preston night air. He speaks quite quickly and there’s a southern tinge to his accent going back to his Brighton upbringing.

He’s already an important figure for Rotherham and doesn’t need a text to know that he’s done well since his loan move from Middlesbrough where he was out of favour under Chris Wilder and played only eight times in the 2021/22 campaign.

Home for now is an apartment in Wickersley and he’s taking to life in South Yorkshire and liking what he’s seeing at AESSEAL New York Stadium..

“Yeah, I’m really settled,” he says. “It’s been difficult for me because I didn’t play a lot of football last season. I feel like I’m just getting up to speed now. The more games I’m playing, the better I’m feeling.”

Some fans on social media have described him ‘a younger Richard Wood’ and he laughs out loud, giving another sparkling flash of those perfect molars his manager likes so much.

“I hope I’m still playing at Woody’s age!” he says in reference to the veteran warrior who anchors the Millers’ three-man backline. “Fair play to him for keeping himself in the shape he has.

“This is a tough league to play in whether you’re 20 or 37. To still be doing it at 37 is incredible. He’s as fit as ever.

“I’m 30 now and want to play for as long as possible. I’ll be asking him for a few tips on how he’s kept going. It’s good to have people like him around and to be able to learn from them.”

Eight years ago he was playing in the second tier with Birmingham City and Blackpool on loan from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs sold him to QPR and five seasons at Loftus Road followed before a 2020 switch to Teesside.

“I’ve played in this league for most of my career,” he says. “It’s a relentless league: Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. It’s very demanding.

“Our team spirit will be massive for us. We put our bodies on the line. Just look at us tonight. I’ve come to Preston on many occasions and I think I’ve won only once. It’s not an easy place to come to.

“Picking up away points will be vital. At the end of the season, a point like tonight’s could be a big one for us.”

Encouraging start or not, a hardened campaigner isn’t getting carried away.

“We don’t look further ahead than the next game,” Hall says. “You can see how hard the lads are working for each other.

“We are going to have to put in a massive shift this season to get to where we want to be.”

He’s looking for more than a point this weekend when the Blues come calling at AESSEAL New York Stadium. “We’ll always back ourselves at home with that crowd behind us,” he says.

Interview over, he ambles away, an imposing six-foot-plus figure clad in a black, club-issue tracksuit, to join his teammates on the waiting coach.

“Appreciate your interest,” he says when I thank him for his time.

As for that text, the message was short and simple ...

Grant Hall 9.5.

***********************

BIRMINGHAM City are hoping to have defender Marc Roberts back in their squad for Saturday’s trip to Rotherham United.

The centre-half has missed the Blues’ last two matches after going off in the 1-0 loss against Cardiff City on August 13 with a thigh strain.

“Hopefully he won’t be too long,” said manager John Eustace last week. “Seven to ten days.”

The 32-year-old has made more than 150 appearances for Birmingham since joining them from Barnsley in 2017 for a fee of around £3.5 million

***********************

CAPTAIN Richard Wood is warning fans not to expect a repeat this weekend of the four-goal drubbing Rotherham United handed out in their last outing at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Birmingham City arrive in S60 on Saturday near the foot of the Championship table after one win in their opening five matches.

But that doesn’t mean the Millers will cruise to the kind of win they enjoyed against Reading earlier this month, Wood says.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this league,” the skipper said. “Look at Reading: we beat them 4-0 and then they won their next two games without conceding. It does my head in when people think it might be easy for us.”

New York is set for another bumper crowd, with Birmingham bringing a large following with them.

That plays into the hands of Wood who loves a big match on Rotherham’s own patch.

“It will be a great occasion,” he said. “The Millers fans have been brilliant at New York Stadium this season and Birmingham will fill the away end.

“One of the best things about the Championship is the size of the away support. It adds to everything. I love the atmosphere. We need to keep up our intensity and tempo at New York.”

Rotherham are unbeaten in their opening four league matches and have conceded only two goals, giving them the second-best defensive record in the division, behind Preston North End.

Centre-half Wood said: “That’s a good stat, especially when you consider that I’ve got new players either side of me this season in Grant Hall and Cam Humphreys.”

Meanwhile, the Millers travel to fellow promoted side Sunderland in the Championship next Wednesday.