Two squads, one heart as belief grows ... the David Rawson Rotherham United Fan Column
IT'S possible, you know, that we're overachieving.
Not because of the injuries, because, in a weird way, they help clarify things.
Matt Hamshaw doesn't exactly have to think hard about who will start in defence
Or up front.
No, it’s possible that we’re overachieving because this stage of a rebuild shouldn’t feel this coherent.
We have, effectively, two squads in one.
We have Steve Evans’ signings from last season, the would-be League One all-stars, who never quite gelled or fired. And we have Hamshaw's signings, players signed to play a specific style and shape.
Oh, and Jordan Hugill. Signed to be our main man: captain, leader, provider of streetwise nous.
Take that away from him, as first Leam Richardson and then Evans did, and you take most of what makes him effective. Whether or not he'd be starting if some, or all, of Sam Nombe, Kion Etete and Martin Sherif were fit, is no longer relevant.
He's the last man standing, critically important again: and he's loving it, gritting his teeth and battling through injury because he's the sort of character who repays your faith, if you place it in him.
It shouldn’t work. At least, not like this. It should be one good performance, one shaky one, good when it’s good and frustratingly close when it’s not.
Instead, out of the noise comes a clear signal, the resilience and grit that settled squads have.
We’re tough to beat, difficult to play against, hard to break down.
And we can play a bit. There are patterns to our play which, when executed with the precision and timing that we saw for Josh Benson’s goal at Reading, are irresistible.
The players trust each other. The manager trusts them. We’re starting to believe in this.
January looms. Can either Etete or Sheriff contribute meaningfully in the second half of the season?
With Hamish Douglas now looking like a genuine first-choice first-team player, what is our best defensive combination and what does that mean for the players who aren't in it? In a league as even and open as this one seems to be this season, is there a way for us to accelerate our development?
Hamshaw has made his case. The players are playing for him, the results are coming. He's wrung everything out of the current squad, beyond the physical endurance of some.
So, do we push on as we are and risk hitting a wall? Do we cash in on some of our bright sparks to build a war chest for next year (and hope not to weaken the side too much)? Or try to add depth to transform us from outsiders with potential into something more?
Whatever, the fact that it’s open for discussion is encouraging. Six weeks ago, it was impossible to think in these terms.
That's an achievement in itself.