The changing face of Rotherham United's training complex
ROTHERHAM United’s training ground is undergoing a huge summer revamp as the Millers take further steps to establish themselves as a long-term Championship enterprise.
The club are looking forward to a second successive season in the division after winning their fight for survival earlier this month and know they must give their squad the best possible resources if they are to prosper at the higher level.
The programme of work at their Roundwood base includes major outdoor and indoor upgrades.
“The pitches need improving, the gym needs improving, the changing-room space and quality needs to be looked at,” said manager Matt Taylor, who led Rotherham to safety in his first season in charge.
Both playing surfaces are in the process of being relaid while electricity, Wi-Fi and shower provisions are also being overhauled.
“We enjoy Roundwood. It’s a great facility because it keeps everyone close and together and enhances our spirit,” Taylor said. “The players like being there.
“But if we want to be realistic about sustaining ourselves as a Championship club then we do need to keep on moving forward.”
The improvements extend to AESSEAL New York Stadium where ‘stitching’ is being integrated to produce a hard-wearing ‘hybrid’ surface combining conventional grass with synthetic turf.
“That means we will have something reliable we can train on if our training pitches are under water or boggy,” Taylor said.
Drainage issues have long been a Roundwood headache.
The boss praised the support he has received from Millers owner Tony Stewart who is providing the funding for the changes at the complex which has been in its present form since 2017.
“The chairman has been absolutely fantastic,” he said. “We spend the most amount of our time at Roundwood. The product on a matchday is a result of what goes on on a daily basis.”
The financial rewards for staying up mean the Millers have been able to press ahead with more enhancements this year than if they’d slipped back into League One.
“We have to move with the times, we have to keep on growing. I have to make this club better prepared next time around,” Taylor said.
“I want to change the line of ‘little old Rotherham’. We have to find a way to sustain a real Championship team.”
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TONY Stewart was happy to help out when manager Matt Taylor approached him about making Rotherham United’s Roundwood complex a better place.
“He knows what he wants,” the Millers owner said. “He makes sense when he tells me things and I’m a listening chairman.
“There are lots of things happening at the training ground. We’re extending it and doing things to make it more habitable.”