Anthony Forde talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
WE may be entering the final few days of the Millers’ Championship era, but Irish winger Anthony Forde is predicting a bright future for the club under the permanent stewardship of Paul Warne.
Following a difficult campaign, the Millers will be plying their trade in England’s third tier next term for the first time in four years, after Championship relegation was confirmed in early April.
However, despite their fate being sealed some time ago, the Millers have refused to throw in the towel and ahead of the season-finale against Derby County, this Sunday (noon), Warne’s men have picked up four points out of their last six, after a narrow home victory over Ipswich Town in their last home outing, was followed by a hardworking display at Preston North End which saw them rewarded with just their second away point of the season.
Speaking to www.themillers.co.uk ahead of the Derby clash, Forde was quick to hail the impact of Warne, who has managed to maintain high spirits around the Millers camp despite their current predicament.
“We have had a few good performances in the last few games and we have started to get our reward,” Forde insisted.
"We've worked really hard during the course of the season and it's nice to get some points. We can take the confidence into next season.
“It’s great to also get a few results for Warney. He’s been brilliant with us. He’s put in a lot of effort and if everything goes well, we will have a really good environment around the place with Warney here.
“It will be a tough game against Derby, but we would like to get the three points, especially being at home, and then we can start looking to next season.”
Forde is no stranger to League One football following his stint with Midlands outfit, Walsall, prior to his arrival in South Yorkshire and while predicting that the Millers are likely to be a force to be reckoned with in England’s third tier, he is under no illusions over the size of the task facing his side next term.
“League One is a very tough league as well,” Forde warned.
“We just can’t drop a league and think it is going to be easy. You need to get a squad ready for pre-season. That makes a big difference because you can work with the majority of the team for a few weeks before the first game and hopefully we can do that.
“We need to go into the season after a good pre-season and as a squad, give 100 percent every game. If we do that, I think we can have a really good season.”
Following his signing last summer, Forde has had a mixed Championship campaign as he was often in and out of the Millers team under former managers Alan Stubbs and Kenny Jackett before, arguably, being given a new lease of life since Warne took the Rotherham helm.
In the second half of the campaign, Forde has seemingly found his feet in South Yorkshire, by being a dependable performer on the Millers flank while giving the Rotherham fans a glimpse of his ability to find the net from long-range, epitomised by his eye-catching efforts at Brentford and Wigan.
Despite returning to League One on a team and individual level, Forde is hopeful Rotherham’s absence from the Championship is a temporary one, as they look to mount a successful promotion challenge at the first time of asking.
"I've made the jump to the Championship but it hasn't been a great season for the team but I've learned a lot,” Forde added.
“I've played a lot of games and you learn something new, in every league game you play. It's been good to play at this level,” Forde added.