Semi Ajayi talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Rotherham United defender Semi Ajayi says last weekend’s dramatic late equaliser against Reading has kept the momentum flowing through the Millers’ camp ahead of the visit of high-flying West Bromwich Albion.
The Millers will host Albion for the first time at the AESSEAL New York Stadium when Darren Moore’s side make the trip to South Yorkshire on Saturday.
The Millers face a stiff test from a side that was competing in the Premier League last season, but Paul Warne’s bullish side have already shown their mettle against some of the top sides The Championship has to offer.
Nigerian international Ajayi has been at the cornerstone of the Millers’ success this season, and the former Arsenal ace witnessed first-hand the elation that erupted from Joe Mattock’s late equaliser last Saturday.
Despite not being able to turn good performing draws into wins, Ajayi says the results and performances in recent games are giving his side momentum as Warne’s army head into the busy run of festive fixtures.
“Picking up as many points from games as we can, even if we don't win them, is important,” he told www.themillers.co.uk.
“The fact that we were able to bounce back from being down and get another last minute equaliser is really good and it just keeps that momentum going and keeps confidence up ahead of the weekend.
“We've got a really resilient team, so even if we're not at our best we've got a knack of just managing to stay in a game because we know sooner or later our performances levels will pick up and we'll come good. We managed to do that at the weekend even though we definitely weren't at our best in the first half but we stayed in the game and whenever it is only 1-0 you've always got a chance.”
The Millers have only tasted defeat once on home turf this season and have turned their AESSEAL New York Stadium base into something of a fortress this campaign and Ajayi insists he and his teammates want to preserve that record, as Premier League hopefuls West Brom come to town this weekend.
“I think we've only lost once at home all season and that's another big motivating factor in terms of us not wanting anyone to come to our patch and take three points off us,” he added.
“The lads dug in last weekend and we managed to keep that record going.”