The great Cyprus quiz scandal, competition for places and England's World Cup ... Rotherham United skipper Richard Wood writes for The Advertiser

I was part of the team that finished second in the quiz during our week-long training camp in Cyprus in the international break

It all went down to a tie-breaker final and what happened then was a scandal. Let’s just say that some of the stats involved in the crucial question at the end were very, very dubious.

One of the staff sides won and we just have to accept it. Like a contentious refereeing decision, it’s gone now.

Cyprus was a very good experience and I really enjoyed it. It rained on a few days but when the sun came out everything was extremely nice. The hotel was lovely and so was the food.

A mid-season trip abroad was something I’ve never done before.

We got in a some good sessions and then had a competitive game between ourselves that finished 1-1 near the end of our stay.

The camp was good because we had a lot of time on the training pitch and it allowed the management to get all their ideas across to us: how they want us to play, how they want us to work.

That was something the gaffer hadn’t been able to do since his appointment because of all the games we faced before the World Cup shutdown.

The players are really feeling the manager’s influence. I think the fans were starting to see it in the last few matches before the break, even though we hadn’t had the opportunity to work on things properly.

The lads are starting to get to grips with things now and we’ve still got some of this week and all of next week to work on things further. This fortnight at Roundwood will let the management really embed their ideas in the players.

We’ll make mistakes as we’re learning so it’s good there are no points at stake at the moment. The gaffer isn’t making loads of changes and we’ll be used to them by the time we return to action a week on Saturday. It just needs the repetition of practise.

Meanwhile, here’s my last word on that quiz fiasco ...

Our team consisted of me, Cam Humphreys, Jake Hull, Shane Ferguson, Big Eavesy and Scotty High.

There was a selection of rounds and everybody chipped in with a few answers. We had an emoji round and Cam Humphreys came alive in that!

I’m telling you, we deserved to win.

The fact that we didn’t ranks as one of the great injustices of my long career.

ME, Grant Hall, Lee Peltier, Jamie McCart, Cam Humphreys and Wes Harding ...

A right competition for starting roles is brewing now that all of our six centre-halves are fit again.

I totally welcome that. Players fighting for places is healthy for any team.

We have another central defender in our ranks too: teenager Hamish Douglas.

Young Hamish has been taken out of our under-18s set-up to train with the senior squad and he’s done really well. He even made the bench for our derby win at Sheffield United last month.

I’ve been speaking to him quite a bit and trying to give him a bit of guidance.

He’s a good kid and it’s always nice to see a youngster come through.

PHIL Foden ... what a player. He’d in my England World Cup starting line-up all day long.

I hope England continue to play as they did against Wales because on their day they can beat anybody, Carry on like this and they have a good chance of winning the tournament.

There have been some surprise results and not all of the so-called big teams are going to make it to the latter stages. We need to get the right players on the pitch and not be too conservative in our approach.

I didn’t watch too much of the World Cup in Cyprus because the TV in my room had foreign commentary. I just saw all the highlights and goals.

I’m watching much more now with Jade and our two boys now that I’m back home at Wood Towers.

As for Foden, you’ve got to have those type of players in your team: ones who can create something unexpected with a touch of magic.