'Positive turning point': Rotherham United boss Matt Hamshaw on seismic win plus praise from Northampton Town rival Kevin Nolan
IT’S mid-October and Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw finally feels that the Millers' season is up and running at long last.
Events in the final quarter at Northampton Town crystallised that feeling in a precious 2-1 verdict, with Hamshaw's side harnessing elements of positivity in games against high-flying Bradford City in the league and Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy to telling effect late on at Sixfields, which felt like a 'game-changer' for the Millers in the context of 2025-26.
Hamshaw, who also welcomed back Sam Nombe from injury, said: "It's massive and I've said to the lads since after the Bradford game, I can feel it.
"I can see it in training, I can feel it in the group. I don't want to keep making excuses for them, but they are a young, naïve group of men who have kind of come together a little bit.
"We've got a few scars, I don't mind admitting that, but I think that once we shake that off and we play with a purpose and play a bit freer as we did certainly that second half - you saw it on the night against Oldham and against Bradford - I think it's a real positive turning point for the group."
Meanwhile, Hamshaw's opposite number and good friend Kevin Nolan, despite being unhappy at the awarding of a free-kick which led to the Millers' winner and the chalking off of an early header from Sam Hoskins for offside, displayed a classy touch in congratulating his one-time England youth team-mate afterwards.
The Northampton chief said: "You've got to put it onto (praise) Rotherham.
"Matt's been a bit under pressure, I think and he's a good pal of mine, so I'm pleased for him.
"They have got players coming back so I can see them climbing the table and they are not going to be an easy opponent for anybody."
One player who won't be coming back soon is loanee Kion Etete, out for a lengthy spell after suffering a training-ground injury.
Hamshaw, who did not go into specific details on the extent and timeframe of the issue, added: "It's a bit of a blow, to be honest. He got a serious injury, we think, on Thursday in training, which is devastating for everybody, Kion included.
"The severity of it, it looks like it's going to be a serious one. It was absolutely nothing in training. We've been careful in managing and monitoring his workload."