Rotherham United’s latest summer recruit Angus MacDonald insists he is ready to take up the challenge set out by his new boss Paul Warne in their initial video meeting, prior to his arrival at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Warne has become notorious for his pre-signing meetings with potential new recruits and has self-confessed to ‘trying to put players off’ putting pen-to-paper with his side by outlining the incredibly high standards he sets for his team.
However, MacDonald who is the latest player to pass the manager’s good human being exam, is keen to live up to expectation after agreeing a two-year deal at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
"He was definitely trying to scare me off but I am fully up for the task ahead and dedicated to the cause,” he revealed to www.themillers.co.uk.
“If that means buying into the ethos of the manager and the way that the club is then that is what I'm about.
"As soon as the call came in that Rotherham were interested, it was definitely something I was really happy about.
"It was a really positive Zoom call and from the minute I came off it, I knew what the manager was about and what the club was about and it was definitely something that I wanted to buy into.”
The Winchester-born defender revealed that he was in touch with a former Miller and friend before he made the decision to play his football at AESSEAL New York Stadium, who again, forewarned him of the hard work to come before the 2020/21 season kick off.
"Ry [Williams] said "get your running trainers on because you've got a lot of hard work to do,” he explained.
“When I had the chat with him, he expressed how much he'd enjoyed it at the club and that cemented my decision.”
Unlike the rest of the Rotherham United squad, including Paul Warne’s two other new signings, MacDonald has tasted match action over recent months and was part of Hull City’s squad as the Sky Bet Championship returned to action following lockdown.
MacDonald explained that whilst it was a disappointing end to the season from a club perspective, the chance to be back involved in first team action meant that he didn’t want the break for the new season to come.
"For me personally, it was nice to get back out there and get back on the pitch,” he continued.
"I almost didn't really want the break - it was so good being back out on the pitch. I know it was a disappointing time for me and the players at Hull because we got relegated but it was almost like I didn't really need that break and I just wanted to go straight back and carry on playing.”