Rotherham United v Hull City: Matt Taylor looking to make Millers more flexible

After six years under one manager, the Millers' squad has a pleasing predictability.

Towards the end of his time in charge, Paul Warne settled on 3-5-2 as his preferred way of playing, and built a squad accordingly.

It makes picking a team more clear-cut than trying to find the best combinations from a hotch-potch of mainly attack-minded options is for his counterpart on Saturday, Hull caretaker coach Andy Dawson. But Taylor is yearning for something slightly different.

Even more so with Chiedozie Ogbene – a speedy winger converted into a speedy centre-forward – injured, Taylor's ability to spring surprises is limited.

He still found one in midweek, giving central midfielder Hakeem Odofin his first start since March 1 in the victory at Stoke City.

"He earnt that opportunity, partly with his training attitude and how he played against Huddersfield (as a substitute)," explains Taylor, who has now overseen four matches.

"He's a slightly different profile to what I've seen we've got in the middle of the park.

"We're still trying to get him up to speed. That sounds strange a quarter of the way through the season but he hadn't featured this season and I don't think he featured much last season (one League One start and ten substitute appearances).

"Bar Hak's profile, the rest of the (midfield) group are quite similar.

"We've got a lot of centre-halves who can play on the outside of a back three but we've not got any natural wide players – Cheo traditionally is an outside-of-the-pitch player but he's now playing centre-forward. We've got wing-backs and full-backs, not out-and-out wingers.

"You're always looking to add options because we might change shape at various stages of the season. We have to be flexible.

"We're looking at different ways to be competitive away from home especially. Our home structures probably won't change too much but coming into poor away form and watching the Blackburn game it was pretty apparent we needed to try something different."

It suggests some wheeling and dealing in January, though the fact Taylor seems more interested in the summer suggests no revolution.

"We want a bigger variety at the top end and the outside of the pitch and a different balance in departments all over," says the 40-year-old.

"It's a constant process towards working to what you want the squad to look like. It’s never achievable but you've got to be working towards it.

"January will be big but as always the summer is the big one. It's a more sensible recruitment drive, not done in a rush, it's not done out of panic and it's not a false market.

"When we walked through the door it was about Millwall (his first game) but we do need to have an eye on January. I'm not worried about it because I know (Rotherham's recruitment department) will have their targets set up."

Ogbene's injury reduces the different ways Taylor’s forward line can play, although the manager has no complaints about the quality of his alternatives.

"It's not ideal losing Cheo because he's the one with the physical profile high up the pitch which is just going to frighten defenders," he says.

"He's out injured at the moment, which is a real shame because we want four or five centre-forwards or attacking players all fit and firing.

"But we've got more than enough. Conor (Washington) was outstanding against Huddersfield. He wouldn't have been able to back it up on Tuesday (from the start), it wasn't his type of game, but Georgie (Kelly) did a bit of a lone striker role with midfielders running around him and did that manfully.

"We look forward to Cheo coming back and we think it'll be a matter of a couple of weeks at the most.

"We might well look to put Cheo on the outside of the pitch in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. We just need options with so many games in a quick time.

"I always want physicality at the top end of the pitch, a bit of a platform if the team's under pressure, and Georgie and Tom (Eaves) certainly fit that bill, then Conor offers something slightly different.

"Tom's improved drastically from what I've seen in the last couple of games, Georgie's on the back of his goal and impact last Saturday and Tuesday, and Conor's performance against Huddersfield.

"But every game is different and even within the game there's times where you'll want to change it around."

As the home team and the higher one, Rotherham will be favourites to win this Yorkshire derby. Hull's squad may not be well balanced but it is brimming with so many top-quality internationals they will always be dangerous if they click.

"Every time I get a team sheet and look at the opposition, I see certain players and think, 'Good grief, there's some serious quality there,'" says Taylor. "That's the league – good players, good teams struggling and good players, good teams at the top. There's not much between them.

"Let's enjoy this rollercoaster, strap ourselves in and see where it takes us."