Rotherham United

Members of Rotherham United’s first-team squad in conjunction with the RUFC Community Sports Trust have today made their annual Christms visits to Rotherham Hospital and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

The Millers squad posed for photographs, signed autographs and handed out gifts which they had donated, to further display the club’s commitment to the fantastic work done both at the local hospital and children’s hospice.

Club captain Lee Frecklington, who was part of the squad that visited Bluebell Wood, expressed his pride at being able to represent the club and said he and his teammates were honoured to have been invited to spend time with the patients.

“I would like to say thank you to the staff and children at both Rotherham Hospital and Bluebell Wood for inviting us to spend time with them at this special time of year,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.

“I speak on behalf of all the Rotherham United squad when I say that we were both honoured and humbled to meet all the people on the wards, from the nurses to the children.

“We hope our presence provided some festive cheer for a special group of people, whilst I cannot stress enough the good work being done by all the staff at the hospital and hospice.

“It does put things into perspective about how lucky we are, especially at this time of year.”

Rotherham United’s Head of Community Jamie Noble was also in attendance and added that he was pleased to continue the relationship with both the hospital and the hospice, which he believes are fantastic causes in the local area.

“Once we learned that we had been invited to visit the Rotherham Hospital and Bluebell Wood again this year, we had no hesitation in confirming our attendance,” he explained.

“The club and Community Sports Trust have worked very closely with the staff at both and we have enjoyed a great relationship over the years.

“The players understand that we are a family-oriented club and insisted on setting aside some money to try and bring some Christmas cheer to the children.

“In addition to that, Paul Warne was keen to stress the importance of these visits as soon as he took up the caretaker reins and he has been fully supportive in setting aside time for the players to visit.

“I would like to thank everyone involved at both the hospital and hospice who do a tremendous job and were incredibly helpful to everyone on the day. We look forward to continuing our fantastic partnership going forward."