Zak Vyner talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Bristol City loanee Zak Vyner insists that the Millers’ Championship survival is just as important to him as it is those employed permanently at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
The right back, who has impressed in South Yorkshire following his summer switch from Ashton Gate, has enjoyed an ongoing battle with experienced operator Billy Jones for a starting jersey and is adamant that helping Paul Warne’s side to retain their second tier status is right at the top of his priorities list, despite his permanent registration being with the Robins.
The 21-year-old told www.themillers.co.uk that he has enjoyed his stint with the Millers so far and maintains that he and his teammates are keeping a positive mindset ahead of the season run-in.
“I've bought into it and I don't think a loan could be successful if I was half-thinking that I wasn't going to be here next season,” Vyner explained.
“I want to stay up just as much as everyone else here who is here permanently. I feel like I can take that attitude into games.
“I want to keep performances high for everybody and I want to do it just as much as the next lad at the club.
“The idea of being relegated hasn't once crossed any of our minds. We always feel that we have to keep the belief and the faith strong and we're going to do it.”
Vyner arrived in Rotherham on the back of a successful loan spell in the third tier with Plymouth Argyle a season previously and has been delighted by the opportunity to ply his trade in the Sky Bet Championship with the Millers this term.
After a tough start to life in the second tier following a heavy opening day defeat at Brentford, the Bristol City loanee admits he feels he has come a long way in his development.
“I feel like a lot of us have come a long way since that first game,” Vyner added.
“For me, it's been a successful loan.
“I've played 30 league games now and I never would have thought that would happen this season and I've just got to keep building on my development and my game and hopefully I can become a better player.
“I've had good competition with Billy and he's a great pro, who helps me out a lot. I try and pick his brain about his career and I hope we continue that battle for the starting shirt until the end of the season.”
The London-born defender featured in the impressive performance at the Bet365 Stadium last Saturday, which saw the Millers battle back from two goals behind to earn a draw, and is hopeful that his side can kick on from that result as they prepare for a busy Easter weekend of fixtures.
“We showed that we're not going to give up and that we'll always fight until the end and I thought that we showed that in the performance, even in the first half,” Vyner continued.
“Even though it didn't look that good after the first half. We've had a meeting on it and we've been shown a lot of positives and we have to take them into the Swansea game and keep pushing forward.
“I feel like if you have a bit of a dip when the games are coming thick and fast you can put it right. Now we want to go to Swansea and put the same performance in that we did at Stoke in the second half and go and get the win.
“We can't look at them as Swansea from the Premier League. We turned in a good performance against them last time and got that win and I feel like we need to go and do the same again.
"We need to disrupt them and we can't think of them as a former top flight side. We did the same at Stoke, we need to go there and play our own game and hopefully get something.
“We've got a big game against Birmingham on Monday as well, so we'll go again then. It's great at this time of year, the games come thick and fast and you just get to do what you love, playing football.”