Richard Wood urges Rotherham United to play without fear

Richard Wood has challenged his Rotherham United team-mates to try to 'enjoy' their remaining time in the Championship.
Rotherham United central defender Richard Wood says the side has nothing to lose as it faces the drop.Rotherham United central defender Richard Wood says the side has nothing to lose as it faces the drop.
Rotherham United central defender Richard Wood says the side has nothing to lose as it faces the drop.

The Millers are stranded at the bottom of the table, have lost 16 of their last 19 games, and are 12 points adrift of safety with just 21 games remaining.

They have improved under caretaker manager Paul Warne, but were knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle by League One side Oxford United.

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They now face back-to-back games against Norwich City and Newcastle United – two of the sides relegated from the Premier League last year.

But Wood believes things can only improve and the 31-year-old insists he is relishing the chance to play against some of the Championship’s top teams.

“With the position we are in, we have to have no fear,” said Wood. “Yes, we are in a bad position, but we should go out and play football and enjoy it. We are in a bad way, but we can only get better. I know we are down there, struggling, but let’s play with no fear, give it a good go and see what happens.

“It will be nice to have a full week of training, Warney can have an input on how he wants us to play against Norwich and then I am looking forward going up to Newcastle.”

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The former Sheffield Wednesday defender has struggled for a continued run in the Millers side, having been loaned to Crawley, Fleetwood and Chesterfield in the last two seasons.

But he is getting games this term and enjoying the challenge, despite the results, and said: “Warney’s training has been very positive, enthusiastic.”

Despite losing several players in the January transfer window, Wood believes the Millers have enough quality to start closing the gap.

“Players going gives other players a chance to come in, it’s a squad game,” he said.

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“Players should step up to the plate and do a job. We have some good talented players.

“I don’t know if what’s gone on for the last few months and where we are has people shying away. We need to stand up, be strong, and be men.

“We need to work on set-pieces. Oxford wasn’t good enough. We need to work on Norwich and how Warney wants us to play. We just need to all stick together.”