The point in the season when it might be 'game on' for Rotherham United
ROTHERHAM United boss Matt Hamshaw is refusing to contemplate a play-off push just yet even though his improving side have just gone nine matches with a defeat in League One.
Today's 1-1 draw at AESSEAL New York Stadium against Wycombe Wanderers continued the club's impressive run and left them only four points away from the top six.
But Hamshaw, whose newly-built side are coming together despite a raft of injury absentees, won't cast his eye towards the situation at the top end of the table unless his side are still going well following the festive schedule.
When it was put to him that very few points are separating a lot of teams, he responded: “That doesn't matter until the beginning of May, does it?
“We're 18 games in now. Christmas is going to be tough. It's going to really test the squad. We're hopeful we should have some players back. I think if we can come out of it in a positive position then it's ‘game on’.”
This afternoon's result – earned by a stirring second-half fightback and a 70th-minute Kian Spence equaliser – left Rotherham in 13th spot. As recently as October, they were 23rd.
They did battle with nearly all of their strikers and a number of their centre-halves in the treatment room.
Happily, all of the men who played against Wanderers, who provided strong opposition and are unbeaten themselves since September 27, appear to have come through unscathed.
“Fingers crossed, we think everyone is okay,” Hamshaw said.
Michael Duff, the new boss who has led a Wycombe revival, felt that the visitors were well worth the interval lead given to them by Jamie Mullin's 14th-minute header. However, he admitted that the Chairboys had had to show real resilience in the face of Rotherham's attacking efforts after the break.
“In the end, it’s probably a fair result because they came on strong in the second half,” he said. “Away from home against a team close to the top of the form league, it’s a good point.
“I think the first half is as good as we’ve been. We looked totally controlled in everything we did. The word is 'frustration', but there are signs of progress.
“We could have gone under, we could have lost the game. We’ll wake up tomorrow morning and probably think: ‘That's a decent result.’”