Rotherham United's Reece James wants to lose 'League One expert' tag - and regain left-back one

Rotherham United have made no bones about it, they plan to escape English football's third tier at the first opportunity, as they have every time they have dipped into it during Tony Stewart’s chairmanship. Signing James, plus the five other additions Steve Evans has already made a fortnight before the transfer window officially opens, screams that.

League One promotion expert is a handy reputation to have when you are out of work, as James was when Sheffield Wednesday released him at the end of last season, but not so much when you actually win promotion, as he did with the Owls and twice with Wigan Athletic.

So although the Millers' over-arching priority is to get back into the Championship, James is thinking about the second part of his two-year contract as well.

At the same time as shaking that League One reputation, he would quite like to be typecast as a left-back after becoming a Jack-of-all-trades in two spells under Darren Moore's management.

That, though, is an optional extra. Proving himself in the Championship is his primary motivation.

"I feel like I want to play in the Championship and I'm good enough to. That's a drive now to try to get back to that level," says the 30-year-old Lancastrian who also had spells at Doncaster Rovers and Huddersfield Town plus a 2014-15 loan at the New York Stadium.

"It takes a squad to get there and we've got to make sure we're together and all on board. It's a tough league so you've all got to be pushing in the same direction."

James' only season of regular Championship football came with Blackpool in 2021-22, and ended in relegation. Although he won promotion twice at Wigan, the season inbetween was wiped out by an ankle injury which kept him off the field for the whole of 2016-17.

Signed permanently last summer by Wednesday after being a key part of their League One play-off-winning team, he made just three Championship starts.

When it comes to League One, there are no doubts whatsoever, though. Along with the likes of Jonson Clarke-Harris and Josh Rafferty and Sean Raggett, both signed from last season's title winners Portsmouth, he can teach his new team-mates a lot about it.

"You've got to have a good mixture, people who have had different experiences in different divisions and all chip in in the right way, whether you're at the top or the bottom together, and it's moulding it all together," he says. "It's huge.

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"It's about having people and players who have done well in seasons but it's also about having goalscorers, lads who have done well keeping clean sheets, assists, all these different things to make a good squad.

"When you look at the league now every team deserves to be in this division. It's incredible for Crawley (promoted via the play-offs) and they'll be a tough test for every side.

"Likewise it's great for the division to have Birmingham and Huddersfield (Premier League teams in the 2010s but relegated from the Championship in May).

"We've got to make sure every game we're at 100 per cent and ready to go."

James talked about wanting to work again with Evans – his manager during that loan as a Manchester United youngster – to improve his game, and also about tying down a position again.

"You think sometimes you excel in a certain area but it's something I always want to be better at,” he says. “You might think you've got good ability crossing the ball but you can always be better," he said.

"I always want to strive to higher numbers than I've produced the season before and work on both sides of the game.

"Left-back's the position I've played the majority of my footballing career from a young age but you're always open to playing another position.

"I think that's something you need to do as football's changing. Teams have to be adaptable with the shape you play and it's just another bit of ammunition for the manager."

But his time playing all manner of defensive and midfield positions for Doncaster and Wednesday could help him to become better at full-back, arguably football’s fastest evolving position.

"It's made massive improvements for what I might have lacked before in my positional sense,” he argues. “Being able to play in a back three has helped my positional sense and maybe my receiving skills when I go into midfield.

"Checking my shoulders is something now I take into my game once I go back to left-back. It doesn't leave you!”