The derby stat Rotherham United boss Matt Hamshaw wishes he wasn't aware of!
IT was the last thing that manager Matt Hamshaw wanted to be told about.
Someone had just mentioned a statistic at the Rotherham United boss's Thursday press conference in the build-up to tomorrow's derby with Doncaster Rovers at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Now he had the weight of history on his shoulders as well as a heap of relegation concerns as his 23rd-placed side prepared to do League One battle with their South Yorkshire rivals.
In 14 home matches against the old foe from along the M18 since March 1985, the Millers have won 13 and drawn the other.
"I'm not too sure I wanted to hear that," Hamshaw smiled.
He knows that opposing boss Grant McCann will weaponise it as motivation for a Rovers side that were in deep trouble themselves not so long along but have climbed to 18th spot on the back of four wins and two draws in their last eight third-tier outings.
"We had it at Barnsley (in October), didn't we?" the Rotherham man said. "We'd not won there in 80-odd years and I used it."
He was exaggerating a touch - it was 55 years - but the memorable 1-0 triumph provided by Kian Spence's second-half goal didn't need correcting.
Coming after two successive Millers defeats and performances lacking in quality and character against Cardiff City and Burton Albion respectively, is a clash with local bragging rights at stake the best or worst fixture to have next?
"Good question," Hamshaw mused. "I would see it as the best.
"I understand why people would see it as the worst, because obviously there's a bit more riding on it, but I think it's a game that we should embrace and attack.
"The lads know - and I know myself - that we're a little bit 'off' at Burton. This is the next game to have a reaction, and the fact it is a derby and there will be a decent crowd there probably adds to that.
"We have to be brave, we have to want the ball, we have to want to play forward, we have to want to be better on the ball because in these last couple of games we have been nowhere near the levels that I'd expect."
In his first encounter with Doncaster as a manager, in August at the Eco-Power Stadium, Hamshaw was on the wrong end of a 1-0 loss as Owen's Bailey first-half header separated the two sides.
However, his record against Rovers during his time as a Millers coach was an impressive one, and memorably included a trio of triumphs - 5-0 and 2-0 in third-tier combat and 6-0 in the Papa Johns Trophy - during the 2021/22 promotion campaign.
"If you ask our fans now, they'll probably still remember all of those three games," he said. "I don't want Donny fans remembering the two games this season."
He believes that tomorrow's encounter will be decided on a few key incidents.
"That is what football is now - it's about moments," he said. "I think that the coaching, the players - everything - is probably at the highest level it's ever been in terms of data. You get scouting reports, opposition analysis, stats on players.
"I don't sit here thinking Donny won't have been watching us, and Donny will know full well that we've been watching them and have done all season.
"So, it's kind of, are your best players doing it in that key situation? Hence why some players become club legends and go down in folklore - because they turn up in these games."
The Millers' need for victory is greater than that of Rovers.
How Hamshaw would love to add win number 14 to that 41-year run he doesn't want to know about.