Neil Redfearn post Brentford...
Rotherham United manager Neil Redfearn was encouraged by his side’s first performance under his reign despite falling to a 2-1 defeat against Brentford in the capital.
Alan Judge’s second minute wonderstrike was matched by an equally impressive thunderbolt from Joe Mattock in the second half, but the Bees’ midfielder struck again following the equaliser to ensure Lee Carsley’s men recorded three points at Griffin Park.
A battling Millers’ performance went unrewarded in the end despite late efforts from Paul Green and Matt Derbyshire but Redfearn was pleased with his maiden outing in Rotherham colours.
“I thought there was a lot of effort and endeavour and Brentford know they’ve been in a game,” he explained.
“If I’m honest I thought we deserved a point at least and when it went to 1-1 we could have got all three.”
The former Leeds United boss is keen to make his mark on his newly inherited squad and believes their showing in London has given them a platform to build on.
“It’s trying to get this side into a position where it feels confident with what they’re about and it’s going to take time because it’s a process,” Redfearn admitted.
“We’re where we are because of what we’ve been doing so we’ve got to find a way to get ourselves out of it. It’s finding the right personnel in the right shape and system to go on and get results.
“I think we’ve got to take a lot of heart from the performance but the lads are a bit down in there. They set themselves up to go and get a result and for me the performance was encouraging. We’ve got some drive but we’ve got to find a way of playing that suits us.
“I think it was a game where there were quite a few chances. I thought we were right in a game that was highly competitive and it was an entertaining game. There was some good stuff played and we’ve got to build on this.”
Danny Ward was set to start at Griffin Park but was withdrawn following an injury sustained in the warm up, while Mattock was substituted after taking a knock in the action.
“His [Danny Ward] back spasmed up in the warm up which is a bit of a concern. It got to the point where he was struggling to walk.
“Then obviously Joe Mattock went over on his shoulder. He said he felt it pop a bit which is a worry because he’s an important player for us.
“If you’re going to compete and you’re going to get stuck in then you’re going to get knocks."