Alan Stubbs talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Rotherham United manager Alan Stubbs has called upon his side to make it an ‘uncomfortable afternoon’ for Newcastle United when they visit AESSEAL New York Stadium in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday.The Millers boss has targeted maximum points from this weekend’s fixture but acknowledges that it will be difficult against a Magpies side vying for an immediate return to the top flight.
“No matter who comes we’ll be looking to try and get three points,” Stubbs told www.themillers.co.uk.
“We know it will be tough and when you look at their squad and what they’ve brought in they are probably the pre-season favourites to go up and I don’t think that’s changed over the last six to eight weeks. We’ll have to be very good on Saturday to get a result.
“What we need to do on Saturday is give them a real game. We need to be in their faces and stop them from playing and make it uncomfortable for them.
“No matter who you are, whether it’s the Premier League or any division, if you can make it an uncomfortable afternoon for the opposition you can get a result even if they’ve got better players.”
Saturday’s clash against the Tynesiders will be played in front of a sold-out crowd in Rotherham and Stubbs believes that their backing could create a pivotal home advantage for his side.
“Their role is, as always, pivotal,” he explained.
“We know how tough a place our home ground can be to come. I don’t think any team likes coming to the New York Stadium and we’ve got to use that to our advantage.
“We’ll have a big vocal crowd following us and hopefully we can send them home happy with a result and a performance to warrant their support.”
Newcastle’s most recent outing in the Sky Bet Championship saw them come from behind to record victory over Norwich City and after a number of positive results in the 2016/17 campaign Stubbs admits he is aware of the threats they will pose at the weekend.
“That’s the quality that Newcastle have. They can score goals and we’ve seen that they’ve had a couple of defeats but we’ve seen them go away and win by impressive scorelines. To go to QPR and win by that margin tells you everything you need to know.
“In their own right they are Premier League clubs and as a result of that the media attention around that will be significant. They’ll come to town on Saturday and I’m sure there will be a busy press room pre and post-match."