Alan Stubbs talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Rotherham United manager Alan Stubbs has welcomed the first month of fixtures as an ‘exciting start’ to his tenure at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Following the announcement of today’s Sky Bet Championship fixtures, the Millers will host Wolves at home on the opening day of the campaign.
The Wolves fixture is followed by a trip to Villa Park to face Aston Villa and then a Tuesday night journey to face Brighton and Hove Albion.
Stubbs now knows his first competitive game as Millers boss will be on home soil, and has welcomed the start to his first Championship campaign with the first fixture taking place on Saturday 6th August.
“It is great to kick off the season with a home game,” Stubbs told www.themillers.co.uk
“It is a big game, but to be honest I think whoever we were going to start with would have been a big game.
“We welcome Wolves and we will look to start the season on a positive note. People might look at Wolves, Villa away and then Brighton away as a tough start, but I think that it is an exciting start.”
The Millers first away fixture of the new season is the eagerly anticipated clash with relegated Aston Villa.
It will be the first time that Rotherham have played a league fixture at Villa Park since 1971 when the Millers produced a 2-1 victory in the old Third Division.
Villa are one of the favourites to make an immediate return to the Premier League, and Stubbs is relishing the trip to Villa Park.
“I don’t think we’ll know if it is a good time to play them until we get to that game,” he added.
“All we need to focus on is us starting the season as well as we possibly can. We are going to have to go to those grounds at some point, the fixtures are what they are and we are going to approach them with positivity.”
The Millers conclude their Sky Bet Championship season with a home game against Derby County.
The draw for the first round of the EFL Cup will take place at 1pm today.