Rotherham United's Matt Hamshaw keeps survival faith as he predicts ‘squeaky-bum time’

They were 2-0 up against high-flying Bolton Wanderers in the lunch-time kick-off AESSEAL New York Stadium but twice handed the visitors a way back into the match and had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Wins for Leyton Orient and Wigan Athletic later in the afternoon saw the margin to safety for grow to five points for the Millers who remained in 22nd spot.

Hamshaw said: "There's nearly a quarter of the season to go, so there's still a lot of games for us.

“Look, it's going to get to squeaky-bum time, isn't it? It's going to get nervy, the fans are going to get a little bit edgy. I understand that it's been a horrific here for the last three years. I understand the frustration.”

After Championship relegation in 2024 and poor campaign under a previous managerial regime last term, the Millers have struggled this season with a young squad.

The boss pinpointed the “naivety” of youth as one of the reasons why the home team couldn't hold on against a promotion-chasing Bolton outfit to claim three crucial survival points as poor defending after the interval twice cost them dear.

“You can't fault the effort, enthusiasm and endeavour,” he said. “We have to be cuter and better in certain areas.”

Hamshaw believes that the younger players are more affected by the mood of the crowd during games than senior pros are.

“At half-time, we showed the group some tactical things that we thought Bolton would do,” he said. “They threw strikers on. I knew they'd come at us in the first 10, 15 minutes. I thought we started off the half off positively and then just got on the back foot.

“It's difficult at the minute, with the atmosphere in the stadium and everybody questioning everything, which I understand. You can feel that. I can feel that, I don't mind admitting that. We've got young players so I know they can feel that. That's not an excuse, that's a reason.”