Number two Dale Tonge slipping seamlessly into his new role with Rotherham United

He'd been doing a similar job for several years anyway, he'd just never had the title.

The former Millers defender was one of Matt Hamshaw's key summer appointments as the boss laid the foundations for his first full season at the helm.

He had long been the front-runner for the position, even though confirmation in June took quite a while in coming.

Previously, Tonge had been a coach at two previous clubs ... but with extra duties and authority.

“I kind of already did the assistant's role anyway,” said the new number two. “I did as much work as I could do in that capacity with Peterborough United.

“I was fortunate how much responsibility (manager) Darren (Ferguson) gave me. It's nothing I hadn't done at Barnsley (under Daniel Stendel) before that as well.”

Hamshaw took the hot-seat in March, bringing with him Andy Warrington, the goalkeeper coach with whom he shared in three League One promotions in a prior stint at AESSEAL New York Stadium as part of Paul Warne's backroom team.

Tonge and Richard Wood, as an outfield coach, followed through the door to complete an all-new leadership group comprising people who had played or worked for the club in the past.

“The coaching is quite a spread, to be fair,” he said. “The gaffer still does some himself but gives us a lot of ownership. There are no set roles, no ‘You do this, you do that’.

“We all muck in quite well and I think that's one of our strengths. I might deliver or the manager might deliver on a certain topic, but we're all involved.

“I retired young as a player so I'm still a young coach. I can relate to the players and I think that helps. The staff are a young group. There is a lot of optimism and enthusiasm.”

The 40-year-old had turned down the chance to bid farewell to Peterborough two and a half years earlier when he could have gone with Grant McCann and Cliff Byrne to Doncaster Rovers.

He stayed to work alongside Ferguson until the lure of the Millers was too strong for a man who made 185 appearances for them as a left-back between 2007 and 2013.

“It was very tough to leave,” he conceded. “I had an amazing relationship with the manager. The biggest thing I can say is, I didn't go with Grant and Cliff when I had an opportunity to. The responsibilities the manager gave me were the reason why I stayed.”

Tonge, who'd come through the ranks at Barnsley as a right-back before spending the majority of his playing days with Rotherham, had been commuting from South Yorkshire to Cambridge.

“Less travel is good,” he said. “It wasn't the main reason why I came here, but it's a nice bonus. I've got a young family: a five-year-old and a two-year-old. I wasn't leaving my missus in the lurch with those two because they're wild!”

He might have joined the Rotherham staff as far back as 2020/21 when he was wanted by the Warne regime and only budgetary constraints prevented a permanent deal being done.

“I suppose, potentially, that might have happened,” he said. “I came in during Covid for a few weeks. It's always been a club that's been close to my heart. "If ever there had been that opportunity, I would have jumped at it. Unfortunately, it never happened at that point.

“Now, I'm loving it. It's what I wanted to do. The manager gives me a lot of responsibility, which is what I thrive on.

“Key to the gaffer's mindset when he put the coaching group together is what it represents. We're all attached to this club and some are from the area as well, which is massive.

“We understand what the people want from their team. It's honesty, hard work and representing the values that South Yorkshire people have.

“It seems trivial to some people but it's really not. It's about being a good person, working hard and when you've got that shirt trying to keep it.”

Early results have been a mixed bag and, after a recruitment drive that has brought a double-figure number of signings and a substantial lowering of the squad's average age, progress will be gradual rather than instant.

“It's a new group and there's still loads to develop,” Tonge said. “That's happening behind the scenes off the pitch and also on the pitch at the same time.

“They're a brilliant set. They're very together considering how new some of them are. The players are really good to work with. The manager has made it clear what he wants on and off the pitch. Hopefully he's starting to get that.

“We want attacking football, we want to be aggressive. We want to press out of possession and then the 'in possession' play will end in a lot more goals. The team is developing all the time.

“When we bring people in, they have to be the right person. Finding out what somebody is like is the main aspect. That is the first phone call.

“It's a small industry that we work in so you get to find out a hell of a lot of what you need to know. First and foremost, the manager wants personalities and good people, then the football will take care of itself.”

He's glad to be a Miller again. “It was done very amicably,” he said. “Peterborough were brilliant with me.”

So, finally, he's here: five years late, and then after weeks of speculation before the announcement came.

“‘Good things come to those who wait’ comes to mind,” he laughed. “I keep telling the gaffer that!”