‘The biggest fight I have ever been in’ – Rotherham boss Matt Taylor

Posted Saturday, January 14, 2023 by PA

Rotherham manager Matt Taylor believes his team are up for the fight against relegation after they smashed Blackburn 4-0.

A change in formation and debuts for the club’s two new signings, Sean Morrison and Leo Hjelde, paid off for Taylor as the Millers gained their first victory since mid-November and ended an eight-game winless streak.

It took the Millers just 31 seconds to go in front after an attack down the left flank fell to Hakeem Odoffin and he lashed in his first ever league goal for the club with a stunning strike.

Rotherham doubled their advantage with a stunning effort early on in the second half.

Ollie Rathbone skipped by a challenge on the edge of the box before firing in a powerful strike which rattled the crossbar before bouncing over the line.

Shane Ferguson caught out Thomas Kaminski for the third and curled in straight from a corner on 76 minutes.

And there was further misery for Blackburn as Conor Washington found space in the box in stoppage time to fire a fourth in off the post.

Taylor hopes the victory can kick-start a successful battle against survival.

He said: “We have felt pretty low for the last six weeks or so. We have been lower than a snake’s belly.

“There was intent and we were up in their faces and there was great execution in the quality of the goals.

“That first goal gave us a huge boost.

“There has been honesty from myself, the players and the staff, we have brought some players in and changed the shape.

“We have simplified our approach to the game which seemed to help the players. We have generally kept a good team at arm’s length.

“The message to the players before the game was we were in a 20-game season now and we’re in the fight of our lives.

“It’s the biggest fight I have ever been in and we have to show that. When you are confronted with a challenge you’ve got one or two options. You can run away and hide and make excuses or you can stand up to it and put your best foot forward. That was the way we went about our business today.

The heavy defeat was a blow for promotion-chasing Blackburn head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, who bemoaned his side’s inconsistency.

He said: “It’s a disappointing result and a poor performance. We talked about starting the game well and then conceded in the first minute.

“We had three big opportunities to get back in the game in the first half. They are probably the three best chances in the game. You need to take those chances.

“We need to apologise to our fans because it was a poor performance.

“The second goal killed us a bit. We need to stay in the game. We need to be creative in the final third.

“It was not good enough. It’s an extremely young squad and it is something they need to learn. There are no excuses.

“We can win every game and lose every game.”