MARK HUGHES and Paul Ince have got it easy in the Premier League. They should try walking in Mark Robins's shoes.

Neither Manchester City nor Blackburn Rovers will taste the pain of going into administration. Wages will be paid on time and there will be no points deductions. They will not have to move to a temporary home and they will not have to train in unfamiliar surroundings.

If only that was the case for Robins and Rotherham United, who will be playing at Don Valley Stadium after the breakdown of talks to remain at Millmoor.

Managerial baptisms rarely come tougher than Robins's first full season in charge of the Millers. However, the former Manchester United striker subscribes to the theory that 'what doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger.'

The Millers would probably have won promotion last season had it not been for the 10-point penalty imposed by the Football League. Results dipped alarmingly when the club announced the intention to enter administration.

After failing to exit via the necessary Company Voluntary Agreement, the club will start the new season with a minus points tally – the exact penalty still to be announced.

Despite the difficulties, there is still a mood of guarded optimism in the Millers camp, according to manager Robins. Promotion may be too much to ask but he is intent on restoring the club's pride.

The Millers will draw inspiration from the achievements last season of Leeds United, who shook off the handicap of a 15-point penalty to storm up League One and so nearly win promotion.

"We might have points deducted but at least the lads know they will get paid. Nobody else can hurt us now," said Robins. "We could sit here and feel sorry for ourselves but we can't afford to do that. We have to come out fighting like Leeds did last season. It is not the players' fault but we now have to deal with what is thrown at us and then try to develop the club."

Reflecting on last season's events, Robins said: "It would have been so easy to walk away but it never crossed my mind to do so. It was draining and energy-sapping.

"Staff and players were not being paid, we were not able to prepare properly for games, and we were travelling over three hours to games. When you have been used to doing things properly in football, it detracts from what you are about.

"It was a tough time to live through for everyone involved with the club. We might not be talking Premiership salaries – the players do get a decent level of income – but they still live to their means and it affects them when they are not being paid.

"At times like that, you need an understanding partner or wife. That is important in any walk of life and, thankfully, mine has been different class!"

The arrival of a new owner, Rotherham-based businessman Tony Stewart, has provided another source of optimism for the League Two club.

Stewart dipped into his own pocket to keep the club in business this summer and is planning to balance the books while taking the club forward.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Tony will be a great chairman to work for," said Robins. "He has got ideas about where he wants this club to go and what he wants to achieve. He is a 'doer' and when he says he is going to do something he means it.

"Over time, he wants us to move back to a stadium in Rotherham – that includes having a core support to see us through – and my first task at this stage is to make sure we get the results to sustain our league position."

Robins stressed: "We have to get our house in order – and I am not just talking about Rotherham United – that is a given as far as this club is concerned from now on. We have to get the balance right between what is needed on the pitch and the different income streams off the pitch."

Winning football games is clearly not all that matters to this manager. He also sees the bigger picture, knows where things need improving, and is keen to get involved.

"There have been a lot of meetings this summer and a lot of travelling about between our three bases (Doncaster for training, Sheffield for playing, and Rotherham for administration)," he said.

"I had to go sit in the council chambers with the chairman and we have also found a couple of sites in Rotherham where we hope to be training inside the next 12 months.

"It is important that we have the scope to develop any training ground into an Academy or certainly a school of excellence. Once the club is on a stable footing, that is what we intend to do."

Robins could easily have been forgiven for casting envious eyes in the direction of his former Old Trafford team-mates this summer.

Hughes joined the Thai revolution at Manchester City while Ince, who was managing League Two side Macclesfield a year ago, filled the seat Hughes vacated at Blackburn.

But in Robins, there appears no immediate rush to join the big league.

"I want to manage as high as I can – but that is firmly in the future," he insisted. "I am not looking at other people's jobs, I have got enough on my plate here and I enjoy it. I care about this club, it gets under your skin, and I am proud of what our players have done in difficult times.

"Managing in the Premier League provides different challenges to Rotherham's," he added. "There is more media spotlight, more supporters, and more scrutiny but, at the end of the day, it is the same pressures only on a different scale.

"I want to see this job through and be proud of what we achieved," he added.

"We will pick up a few more bumps and bruises along the way but we will come out stronger for it."

Joining forces at Don Valley

IN: In: Mark Burchill (Dunfermline), Alex Rhodes (Bradford City) Mark Lynch (Yeovil), Michael Cummins (Darlington), Reuben Reid (Plymouth Argyle).

OUT: Chris O'Grady (Oldham Athletic), Graham Coughlan (Shrewsbury), Derek Holmes.