Opposition boss Darren Ferguson assesses Rotherham United's threat as he prepares to lock horns with old boy Jonson Clarke-Harris
OPPOSITION boss Darren Ferguson is wary of a Rotherham United strike force containing one of his former players even though the Millers have yet to unlock their true potential up front this season.
Steve Evans' men head to Peterborough United on Saturday as one of the lowest scorers in League One, having hit the target only nine times in their opening ten matches.
Posh old boy Jonson Clarke-Harris makes his first return to London Road since his summer move to AESSEAL New York Stadium and is expected to be in the visitors' starting 11.
Ferguson insisted: “Rotherham are good at the top end of the pitch. Steve Evans has signed a lot of new players, as he does, and sometimes it can take a while to come good.
“Steve’s sides have a way of playing which can be very hard to beat. They have experienced players all over the pitch and, of course, we know Jonno very well.”
Clarke-Harris moved to Peterborough for a seven-figure fee in August 2020 after a prolific 18-month spell at Bristol Rovers and became the third tier's most lethal marksman.
He scored 31 goals in his first season to fire Posh to the Championship and, two years later, bagged another 26 after they'd returned to the lower division.
“He was a fantastic signing for us,” Ferguson said. “We got him really fit. He won the Golden Boot and then did it again.
“We went in a different direction last season when we went with youth and pace, but he was still a massive influence.”
Things turned sour for Clarke-Harris in his final year with Peterborough and he spent much of his time on the bench after a move back to one of his former clubs didn't happen and he then rejected a January chance to move to London.
“Jonno accepted the way we were going,” Ferguson said. “He was messed about with a transfer to Bristol Rovers at the start of last season and then decided not to go to Charlton Athletic.
“His attitude in our dressing room was spot-on and he contributed on the pitch as well. We wished him all the best when he left and we still do.”
Clarke-Harris has scored three goals, including two penalties, for Rotherham this term, with all of them coming in his last seven outings.
Posh's total from their ten games is 16 – the sixth highest in the division – while only Stevenage and drop-zone Crawley Town, Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United have worse records than the Millers.
However, Clarke-Harris's strike partner, Sam Nombe, has scored in successive matches and Evans' team are bidding for a third straight league win this weekend.