Reason for optimism, not enough bodies and the impact of Jamie Jellis ... the story of Rotherham United 0 Sheffield United 2

I don't mean AESSEAL New York Stadium after its recent big clean-up, although Blue Whale Softwash Systems of Doncaster appear to have done a very good job.

I'm talking about Jamie Jellis and his standout performance against Sheffield United on Saturday as Rotherham United played on their own soil for the first time this summer.

The Millers have found a player.

"Absolutely," said Alex Bruce when asked if he was excited by what he's seeing from the July arrival.

"I said when I first got the job that I want to put people in here who can represent South Yorkshire and be up and at them and have a go. I think we've seen all of that in Jamie in pre-season."

The League Two hosts went down to their South Yorkshire neighbours from the Championship. It was their first defeat under their new head coach yet their display offered more hope than any of the previous two wins and two draws.

To Bruce's credit, Rotherham looked a well-coached side in a first half of dogged resistance against opposition who will seek to challenge for the Premier League next term.

The starters were disciplined, they all knew their jobs, they all knew where they should be. They pressed hard, they ran even harder, they plugged gaps. There was no luck or coincidence about the fact that every time something opened up for the Blades, the Millers shut it down.

"It was a tough game, coming up against Sheffield United who are a couple of levels above us at the moment," Bruce said. "They've got some good players.

"I was very pleased with a lot of it, I have to tell you. We were well-organised, we were decent without the ball. You could see what we've been working on. There were a lot of positives. You have to take into consideration that we had a lot of trialists - players who've never played with each other before."

Ah, the trialists … seven of them in all, three of whom were wearing the club's colours for the first time. Some have shown promise, some won't be offered deals. They're here because Rotherham haven't made enough signings yet and they're needed to pad out an under-strength squad.

How Bruce must have envied the visitors' bench, packed with 15 players who all belong to the Blades.

It took a moment of quality to undo the home side who were only minutes from reaching the interval without being breached. Gus Hamer had pulled strings and now he pushed a 43rd-minute pass to Tahith Chong whose touch and finish matched the deftness of the supply.

Earlier, Ted Cann had foiled Callum O'Hare - following a Hamer through ball - and Jellis had forced Michael Cooper into action after Aaron Nemane's cross had fallen to him.

Talking of moments of quality, that man, Jellis, did everything well from kick-off to when he departed in the 73rd minute. He used the ball cleverly, made tackles, tracked back, drove forward. He wouldn't have looked out of place in the Blades team.

His best contribution of all was a run, jink and perfectly-struck second-half shot from the edge of the area that seemed to bend, swerve and stay straight all at the same time as it left Cooper flailing and crashed off the bar.

It was a shame not so many Rotherham fans were there to see it - 1,434 of them, over 1,000 fewer than the travelling contingent who filled the away end.

The second half brought plenty more pressure from the visitors, although they rarely tested trialist goalkeeper Jake Turner, while the Millers upped their game in an attacking sense and twice went close to scoring.

"We've got a lot of positives," Bruce said. "We've seen a few little bits and pieces that we need work on. There are areas where we need bodies. We need to try to get players in. That, ultimately, is the big thing for us at the minute.

"We're taking on a Championship side and Chris (manager Wilder) has had a relatively settled team for a number of years, players who know each other.

"I was pleased, on the whole, with the things that we've been working on in training. You could see them being implemented."

The Millers had a burst of attacking activity within minutes of the restart, with Martha having a shot blocked before Jellis - yes, him again - went for goal from 20 yards and watched his deflected effort be tipped on to the bar by Cooper.

The Blades went further ahead on 53 minutes when Callum O'Hare took aim from distance and superbly arrowed a shot that was always moving away from Turner into the far corner.

Then came Jellis's 69th-minute flash of skill which deserved the same outcome as O'Hare's effort but hit the woodwork.

The impact of Rotherham's midfielder was the highlight of the afternoon, and there were some encouraging signs elsewhere.

Bruce and his coaching staff are doing a good job with what they have at their disposal but they simply don't have enough at their disposal just yet. The short, grim, humourless laugh the head coach emitted when the lack of numbers was brought up in his post-match interview was telling.

He continued to wax lyrical about his star man.

"I think Jamie will be a crowd favourite because of his attitude, his endeavour, the way he runs around," he said. "He was unlucky not to get his goal, obviously hitting the bar twice. He had two or three or decent chances and I was very pleased with him."

A couple more similar 'finds' before the battles begin for real next month wouldn't go amiss.

Because Jellis should shine like a freshly-washed New York seat in the forthcoming season.

Rotherham (4-2-3-1): Ted Cann; Joe Rafferty, Sonny Aljofree (Trialist A), Emmanuel Adegboyega, Kyle McAdam (Trialist B); Ossama Ashley, Jamie Jellis; Aaron Nemane, Jez Davies (Trialist C), Ar'Jany Martha; Fabio Tavares. Subs: Jake Turner (Trialist D), Denzel Hall, Lenny Agbaire, Marvin Kaleta, Kian Spence, James Clarke, Brandon Cover, Cohen Lee, Dean Gardner, Lewis Clarke, Ewan Otoo (Trialist E), Bruce Anderson (Trialist F).

Half-time: Off: Cann and Davies. On: Turner, Spence.60 minutes: Off: Adeboyega, Aljofree, McAdam, Ashley, Martha, Nemane. On: Agbaire, Kaleta , Cover, Williams, Otoo, Anderson.

67 minutes: Off: Rafferty. On: Hall.

73 minutes: Off: Tavares, Jellis. On: Gardner, Lee.

Sheffield United (4-2-3-1): Michael Cooper; Femi Seriki, Japhet Tanganga, Jamal Baptiste, Sam McCallum; Joe Rothwell, Jairo Riedewald; Tahith Chong, Callum O'Hare, Gus Hamer; Tom Cannon. Subs: Adam Davies, Matt Doherty, Oliver Arblaster, Romelle Donovan, Rabbi Matondo, Nils Zatterstrom, Mark McGuiness, Ryan One, Tommy Betts, Dovy Sasnauskas, Billy Blacker, Harry McGlinchey, Zach Giggs, Sydie Peck, Patrick Bamford.

60 minutes: Off: O'Hare, Cannon, Hamer, Rothwell, Riedewald. On: Peck, Bamford, Matondo, Donovan, Arblaster.

72 minutes: Off: Tanganga, Seriki. On: McGuiness, Docherty.

89 minutes: Off: McCallum. On: McGlinchey.

Goals: Chong 43, O'Hare 53 (Sheffield United).

Attendance: 3,933 (2,499).