Kari Arnason talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Ice cool Kari Arnason has praised his Millers' side's defensive fortitude as they earned an eye-catching victory over previously unbeaten Millwall.
The Millers' victory at the Den will have been a coupon buster for many as Steve Evans' men secured their second league win of the season thanks to Ben Pringle's second-half strike.
With the Milllers keeping Ian Holloway's rampant Lions at bay for their third shut out of the campaign in five games, Arnason was full of praise for his team's defensive display.
"We were very pleased with the clean sheet and we were very solid at the back," he enthused.
"We showed great character and we knew when we went one ahead, they would come all guns blazing but we minimised the shots they had on target.
"We didn't keep the ball well enough at the start but we knew if we could get a clean sheet, there would be a great possibility we could win the game."
The Millers were second best for the majority of the first half as Millwall monopolised possession without testing 'keeper Adam Collin to any great degree but a much-improved spell prior to the interval saw Alex Revell come within a whisker of giving the Millers the lead when he poked wide from point-blank range after the lively Paul Taylor was denied.
Speaking exclusively to www.themillers.co.uk afterwards, Arnason revealed his side were fully aware that the game was there for the taking at half-time.
"Millwall are a good side and are going to be very strong at home, so we'd have taken a nil-nil before the game," he admitted.
"However, we know we are a better team than that and we were very positive at half-time and we were pleased with how it went in the second-half."
The Millers started the second half as they finished the first and Evans was rewarded for a tactical masterstroke when Pringle and Taylor swapped flanks at the break and the duo combined when Taylor's cross caught the Lions napping at the back and Pringle ghosted in unnoticed to tap the ball home for his first goal of the season.
With the ex-Derby playmaker often being the architect behind much of Rotherham's attacking intent, Arnason was quick to hail the poacher's instinct of his teammate, whose strike proved decisive as the Millers returned from the capital with maximum points.
"Ben (Pringle) has been absolutely vital for us over the last two years," he enthused.
"We are a better side when he is at his best and I said to him when he scored, that's exactly what he needed."