RUFC - Douglas 'break cost us promotion last year'

Rotherham United`s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Douglas says that he is sure that the long break the Millers had to endure because of the weather last season cost them promotion. Last season the Millers last December game was on 12th December, at Bradford, and they didn`t kick a ball in anger until 19th January at Don Valley against Darlington.

Although, Manager, Ronnie Moore and Chairman, Tony Stewart weren`t quite singing from the same hymn book last month, when Moore said the team would have got automatic promotion if they`d still been at Millmoor one week and the following week Mr Stewart saying that playing at Don Valley had done more for Rotherham United than it was being credited for, the weather certainly played a big part in last seasons push for promotion.

Speaking to David Beddows of The Advertiser, Mr Douglas said, 'I`m convinced that the long break cost us automatic promotion last season because it left us playing two games a week for four or five weeks. We ended up dropping points which we probably would have got at regular times and we don`t want that to happen again.`

Mr Douglas was out on the Don Valley pitch yesterday helping to clear away the snow with ground staff and volunteers and he said, 'The pitch is certainly a lot better than it was last year because a lot of work has been done on it and we`ve not had the amount of rain we had in the autumn last year. All the snow on the pitch has helped protect it from the frost and it is playable.

'The Football League want the game played and they will give us every opportunity to do so.`

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