Rotherham United 0 Plymouth Argyle 1: Championship last stand is short-lived as Millers return to League One

Having fought so hard to stay in the second tier last May, the Millers have been caught badly out of their depth this season, barely surviving longer than the last of the Easter eggs.

A working week that was supposed to start with relegation ended with it instead, confirmed by a 1-0 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle.

Rotherham's poor infrastructure and a transfer policy which saw them make up a decent chunk of their squad with the footballing equivalent of broken biscuits has come back to bite them. For the umpteenth time this season they were unable to name a fill bench.

Manager Leam Richardson talks about changing the culture and so he must, but the problems go beyond the bits on public display.

If it were just down to balance sheets, Rotherham would not belong in the Championship – one of only two teams with Plymouth not to have played top-flight football.

But never mind punching above it, this season they have not punched their weight, handicapping themselves with an overcrowded treatment room and away form that even by their historical standards at this level was feeble.

They must catch up on the under-investment on the less glamorous elements that make the difference so that when their yo-yo existence takes them back up to this level, they arrive with a bit more staying power.

Having spent the last few years dizzyingly spinning between the divisions, the Millers supporters are not deluded. Many had gone home when the final whistle blew but some of those who stayed booed their dissatisfaction, drowned out by 1,005 away fans celebrating their team's rise to 19th at the end of what had threatened to be a horrible week for them too.

"We are staying up!" they sang defiantly.

The DJ hardly lifted the mood amongst the home stragglers – “This is how it feels to be lonely, this is how it feels to be small, this is how it feels when your world means nothing at all.”

Winning at home to Millwall on Easter Monday had delayed the inevitable and following it up would have given them another stay of execution, even if it did mean helping Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town in the process. The only problem was, Rotherham had not won back-to-back league games since October 2022.

But Plymouth, who sacked their manager and replaced him with director of football Neil Dewsnip at the start of the week are no great shakes, only a point above the dotted line at kick-off.

Rotherham started the better, right wing-back Seb Revan shooting well off target after carrying the ball forward and Sam Nombe shooting at a defender from deep.

Shots were not the problem – shots on target were. Sam Clucas managed one but it was weak enough as to almost be a pass.

At the other end, Hakeem Odoffin was looking nothing like an emergency centre-back, making a great slide tackle on Callum Wright and recovering brilliantly after poorly letting a ball through to the inside-left.

Plymouth managed a goalmouth scramble in the 17th minute but when Wright was in far too much crossing space on the right wing, he was let down by Ryan Hardie's poor header. Shortly after the striker ran the ball out of play from a promising position.

But shortly after the half hour, Rotherham graciously allowed their visitors take the lead, Revan letting a Morgan Whittaker cross pass over his head and Bali Mumba converting.

From there the place stank of resignation. Little wonder, this relegation has been in the wash for a long time.

Richardson lifted the mood a touch when the Millers finally settled on him to replace Matt Taylor in December, but the already poor points-per-game ratio has dropped under him.

When Ollie Rathbone went down injured shortly after the goal, all Plymouth's outfield players headed to the technical area for an impromptu time-out. Richardson's was far further away, but only three in red dribbled over to hear what he had to say.

The Millers were booed off at the break by a crowd much sparser than the official 9,863 attendance.

They fought gamely in the second half but without any conviction.

Odoffin headed a Clucas corner over and flashed a shot wide after coming up from the back.

Cohen Bramall's tap wide when a corner came through to him was poor, but at least Revan found his range, forcing a low save after cutting inside on his left for the second time in a matter of minutes.

As the clock ticked on you expected the kitchen sink to be wrenched from its fittings but instead the chances fell to Plymouth.

Vikto Johansson denied Hardie from point blank range, Whittaker's curling shot deflected wide, Adam Forshaw's shot flashed past and substitute Ben Waine might have had a hat-trick in the final five minutes.

Set through one-one-one he shot straight at their goalkeeper, he headed the rebound when Dan Scarr forced a save onto the post and allowed Johansson another stop when Revan kindly played him through again with a poor pass along the back line.

Rotherham United: Johansson; Revan, Odoffin, Humphreys, Peltier (Appiah 82_, Bramall (Ferguson 78); Rinomhota (Lindsay 56), Rathbone (Cafu 56), Clucas; Wyke (Eaves 56), Nombe.

Unused substitutes: Phillips, Seriki, Hatton.

Plymouth Argyle: Cooper; Phillips, Scarr, Gibson; Edwards, Houghton, Randell, Mumba; Whittaker, Wright (Forshaw 61); Hardie (Waine 75).

Unused substitutes: Sousa, Pleguezuelo, Miller, Bundu, Hazard, Galloway, Sorinola.

Referee: O Langford (West Midlands).