Determined Lloydinho focussed on survival

Dubbed ‘Lloydinho’ by the Hornets’ fans, Doyley has a habit of creating a bond between himself and the supporters.

The 33-year-old former Jamaica international was famed for his no-nonsense style and his battling performances during his 15 year stint at the Hertfordshire club which ended last year after just under 450 appearances.

Now Doyley – who has picked up nine international caps – is fully focused on helping the Millers climb the table after signing for manager Neil Warnock last month following a short trial.

The versatile defender can play anywhere across the back four and has made most of his career appearances at Championship level, so it is easy to see why Warnock acted quickly to snap him up on a free transfer.

Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town was only Doyley’s second start since he joined the Millers after suffering an injury in the trip to Burnley in Warnock’s second game in charge.

But Doyley fitted in at centre back alongside skipper Kirk Broadfoot seamlessly and earned the Millers their third clean sheet in four games.

Doyley told the Advertiser: “We’ve played a lot of teams who want to get promoted and we’ve ground out results, which is exactly what we did against Ipswich.

“I’ve only been here for the last month but I think we have been in the bottom three most of the season, so it’s good knowing that at this time of the year – when it is really needed – we are picking up results and getting points on the board.

“We’ve got a lot of good players, people who have had promotions, people who have played in the Premier League and players who have played for top, top teams in the Championship.”

Doyley was happy to get back out on the pitch and get his first full match of the season under his belt.

He said: “It was my first 90 minutes of the season, I’ve played a couple of U21 games, but that was my first 90 minutes, which is always good.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence and everyone is fit, or near enough fit, which means there’s a lot of competition for places.

“I’m very tired afterwards but it feels good knowing that you have come into a team and you’ve kept a clean sheet, you won and you’re out of the bottom three.

“It’s a big confidence boost going into the international break outside of the relegation zone.”

For Doyley, Ipswich provided a stern test but the upcoming games against teams lower in the table will not necessarily be any easier to overcome.

He said: “We knew it was going to be a tough game, I think Ipswich are quite similar to us to be honest.

“They don’t really pass the ball around like a Brighton, but they do have things like the long throw-in, they scrap it out and they’ve got a decent front line in Murphy and Freddie Sears who get goals.

“We are grateful that Derbyshire put in a good ball for Leon Best, but then we had to really grind it out, which we did.

“The next few games are going to be just as tough, we’ve got to play teams that are fighting for their lives as well, which might make us favourites.

“That’s a different type of pressure than playing against a Burnley or a Sheffield Wednesday who expect to beat you.

“I feel confident that we have got a good enough squad to stay up and as long as all the players and the fans believe that, we’ll stay up.”