Lee Clark gives his opinion on Roundwood after becoming Rotherham United boss
NEW boss Lee Clark has leapt to the defence of Rotherham United's much-maligned training ground, insisting it won't be a factor in the club's survival fight as they bid to preserve their League One status in the final weeks of the season.
Roundwood has come in for plenty of criticism - including from former managers Matt Taylor and Leam Richardson - in the past and many people believe it has played a part in the huge injury problems this term.
But Clark, who took the hot-seat 11 days ago, has no issues with the Millers' two-pitch base and is adamant that it is fit for purpose.
“I've managed with far worse infrastructure and facilities,” he said. “No blame culture is going to be allowed at the club, no excuse culture going to be allowed at the club.”
The Geordie was a Premier League midfielder in his playing days and he has previously been in the hot-seat at Huddersfield Town, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Kilmarnock, Bury, Blyth Spartans, Al-Merrikh in Sudan and Al-Ittihad in Oman.
He is holding twice-a-day sessions at Roundwood during the fortnight-long international break and Rotherham return to third-tier action at home to Stevenage next Friday before a Tuesday-night trip to Port Vale.
“The pitches are fine, terrific,” he said. “I've worked at clubs with top-of-the-range training grounds, I've worked at clubs where they didn't even own the training ground. There's no way that that can be used as an excuse. No way. That will not be allowed.”
The surfaces, the subject of near-£300,000 drainage improvements in the summer of 2024, are maintained by award-winning head groundsman David Fellowes and are pristine. The only issue is that there is a very slight slope across the site.
Meanwhile, Clark has addressed the fact that he hadn't been an EFL boss for nearly a decade and had been out of management completely for four years before he agreed a deal until the end of the campaign at AESSEAL New York Stadium following the sacking of Matt Hamshaw.
“The chairman and the board asked the question about my time out and I was open and honest,” he said. “My next job had to be something that was of real interest me. I haven't been chasing roles.
“The longer it goes on, you do think that maybe those days have gone well, but then I've got an opportunity at a club that I'm excited to be the manager of.
“Even though it's one hell of a challenge, I believe we can do it. I want this to be a big five weeks or so. I'll give absolutely everything to make sure that we can get the points required to stay in the league.
“I know League One very well. I've watched a lot of games, both live and lots of footage. It's a drug, football is an absolute drug.”