Rotherham United defender Angus MacDonald believes he is playing some of his best football in recent years, having established himself as a mainstay at the heart of the Millers defence.
MacDonald scored his first goal for the Millers in Wednesday night’s game with Middlesbrough and received the PA Entertainments Man of the Match award on top of that.
The 28-year-old is now looking to carry this form into tomorrow’s clash at Oakwell, when they Millers face Barnsley in their final South Yorkshire derby of the campaign.
“It was never going to be easy to get into the team, there were players here who helped get this club promoted," Angus told www.themillers.co.uk.
“For me to try and get in ahead of some of them and to play alongside them was a good challenge, ultimately this has helped me stay grounded and in my opinion, helped me play some of my best football in years.
“There is a lot riding on it. A South Yorkshire derby with both teams fighting for points, it is one that we will be up for and hopefully the result will go our way, we’ve got to go there and fight for everything.
“No game is easy in this league, we know how they play, they are direct and in your face. We’ve got to go there and stick to our game plan.
“It is still in our hands, we’ve got games in hand, but we need to turn them into points. Everyone is right behind each other and still fighting, we’ll go right to the end.”
As well as having important survival points at stake, MacDonald will also be making a return to one of his former clubs in the shape of the Tykes.
The defender admits he enjoyed his time at Oakwell, citing a late equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday as one of his highlights.
However, he stressed that all sentiments towards the Reds will be put to one side on Saturday, as he focuses on the task at hand.
“I had a great 18 months at Barnsley, they gave me my chance to shine in the Championship and it is always a place that I will hold closely to my heart.
“Scoring the late equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday wasn’t only my highlight of my time at Barnsley, but possibly my whole career as well.
“To score a last minute equaliser that meant so much to the fans and the players at the time was certainly a highlight.
“At the end of the day though, I have to put that to one side, there is a big task at hand tomorrow and I’m fully focused on going there and getting three points."