'I hope' - Rotherham United boss in plea ahead of pivotal week in bid to allay fears of another relegation
Rotherham United face a pivotal week in their bid to arrest a slide that has created fears among the fanbase of a third relegation in four years.
The Millers dropped inside the League Two relegation zone after an insipid defeat at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Rotherham have won just twice inside 90 minutes in 14 games all season having been relegated from League One back in April.
Alex Bruce has been unable to right the ship since coming in in the summer and pleaded for more time in the wake of Saturday’s defeat, saying: “I hope I'm the man to turn it around. I really do.
"I'm doing everything I can.
"A few have tried to change it. It's tough. However, I won't let myself not have the fight.
"I won't let myself not have the challenge.”
It is not the new manager that the fans are turning on, however, but owner Tony Stewart who faced negative chants from the away end on Saturday.
The run piles the pressure on the Millers’ next two home games, against Newport County on Tuesday night and Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
Hayden Mullins’ 11th-placed Newport drew at home with York at the weekend but have yet to win away from Rodney Parade.
Shrewsbury are 14th and have only won once on their travels.
Bruce – whose side have not won at the New York Stadium since the end of August – accepts his team are shorn of confidence after a four-match losing run but believes the key to rebuilding that is through hard work.
“The players look edgy, they look low on confidence,” he admitted.
“The only way out of it is by rolling our sleeves up, having a go and getting ourselves out of the situation that we've put ourselves in.”