Rotherham United to give Matt Hamshaw 'competitive budget' for 2025/26 promotion push

The 43-year-old’s appointment was confirmed on Tuesday after an eye-catching spell in interim charge of the club prompted chairman Tony Stewart to bring forward the decision to make him permanent manager and get things moving early ahead of next season.

With four games left on a lost season, Hamshaw can start to move forward with clarity.

He is parking the fleshing out of his own backroom staff for now to concentrate on casting his eye on the players that are currently at the club that he wants to keep for next season.

Who he can bring into the football club will also be important, and to help with that, he has been assured he will have a healthy budget to work with next season.

Rotherham committed their biggest ever budget to League One this season, but with Birmingham City and Wrexham backed much more handsomely by big-name US investors, the price to pay for success in the third tier is only going in one direction.

“I’m well aware of where we are, we’ll have a competitive budget,” said Hamshaw.

“I’m sure at times he (Stewart) will say yes to me and times he’ll say no. But this football club has been managed soundly.

“I for one am pleased this club is on a solid structure.”

Hamshaw added: “There’s a lot of clubs in League One that feel they should be in the Championship.

“There’s some who might have an outside chance of sneaking in. It’s going to be a competitive league again next season as it has been this season.

“You’re seeing an increase in revenue, an increase in foreign investment. You’re seeing different ways in which you can get outside of FFP in League One, so that’s another reason why League One clubs are getting targeted by outside investors. So it’s going to be tough.”

But at least Hamshaw can now begin work towards next season safe in the knowledge that his position has been finalised.

“We now have a clear identity as to how we move forward, we can implement a lot of things, on and off the pitch, recruitment etc,” said a man who has represented the Millers as mascot, fan and coach.

“There's a number of things I can't wait to get my teeth into and every decision I make will be for long-term future of this football club, not the here and now.”