How Hamish Douglas might be about to end his long spell of Rotherham United frustration

Hamish Douglas has thrust himself back into the first-team frame at Rotherham United with the quality of his performance in his first full match in almost nine months.

The young centre-half hadn't played at all this season because of an Achilles problem until he was in the side that triumphed 5-4 in a Jersey Mike's Trophy penalty shoot-out at York City last week following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.

He followed that up with a short cameo as a late substitute four days later in the League Two clash with Crewe Alexandra

Boss Alex Bruce will now consider giving more fourth-tier ame time to the 21-year-old who has been fit for more than a month.

"He's right at the front of my mind," said the head coach. "I think he's a good, solid player. He had an injury in pre-season which set him back a number of weeks, so I didn't get a chance to see him a lot. It set him back a number of weeks.

"He's just had to be patient to get his chance to get back in the team. He played the other night and I thought he did okay. He'll be in contention to be around the squad because I'm thin on numbers. We're missing seven or eight players out of our squad, which is a big chunk."

Douglas, who came through the club's youth set-up, was hurt in the second friendly of the summer, at Emley on July 14, when he was captaining the side.

Last term, he was a first-choice selection under manager Matt Hamshaw but suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in February, and, prior to the York clash, he hadn't started and finished a match since last December.

"He's a good type, a great lad," said Bruce. "He's a good size. He's not played that much football, we all know that, but he's certainly got the characteristics and the attitude to be a very good centre-half for this club.

"He will get his opportunity, there's no doubt about it, but I've got some other good centre-halves as well, so we'll have to see when he plays."

The 13th-placed Millers are making progress under their boss who was appointed in late June and wants to see a treatment room at Roundwood that is much emptier than the one that blighted last season's drop from League One.

More than 20 players departed over the summer and 16 new faces were recruited.

"When I came here, I spoke at length about turning this club around and trying to get it back in the habit of winning again," Bruce said. "To do that, the players need to play a lot of games. When you look at the top teams and the top players, they play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday - 60, 65 games a season.

"Why can't we? I have to try to create that mentality. If you're not going to be robust enough to play Saturday, Tuesday, you're no good to anyone.

"I need to see hard work on the training pitch. I need to see players who are willing to leave their comfort zone. I need to see players who play with a little bit of pain.

"I look back at my career, I can't think of many games where I played feeling 100 per cent fit. If you ask most footballers, they'll tell you the same about themselves.

"There's always a niggle, there's always a knock. It's about rolling your sleeves up and cracking on. That's the mentality and the culture I want to try to create."