RUFC - Mills 'let my standards drop'

Rotherham United defender, Pablo Mills has admitted that he let his standards drop after coming back, after the summer break, overweight and not mentally tuned-in.

Manager, Mark Robins sent him on loan to Blue Square Premier team Crawley in a 'shape up or ship out' ultimatum.

'I went out on loan to get myself fit,' Mills, twenty three, told The Advertiser. 'It was a successful spell for me and it was exactly what I needed. You have experiences in your career and Crawley was one of my high points.'

On his return, Mills went into the reserve game against Sheffield Wednesday, in midfield and he also played there at Dagenham for the first team last weekend. The manager thinks it is his best position but the defender disagrees, 'I think of myself as a centre half to be honest, where I played with Crawley. But, I have played in midfield when I played for Walsall and MK Dons and if the boss wants me to play there and do a job sometimes, then so be it.'

Robins said, 'Pablo has played in midfield before so it's not something we just dreamed up. He has good quality on the ball and I believe midfield is his best position and I think, in that position, he can play higher than this division.

'I've been critical in the past of Pablo and, before the start of the season, I told him if he didn't knuckle down then he wouldn't be involved. He aquitted himself well with Crawley, in fact they wanted to keep him but our circumstances changed.

'He came back and his attitude is spot on, and I am a man of my word, as long as he continues like that then he will play a part.'

Mills says there is a decent squad at Millmoor and he notices differences between this side and last seasons under Alan Knill.

'This season we are playing a more direct style of football and I think we've toughened up a bit. We have some hard players and a nice mix of young and old. If we all pull in the same direction then I don't see any reason why we can't bounce straight back up.'

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