Rotherham United goalkeeper Josh Vickers was left delighted after extending his stay at AESSEAL New York Stadium until June 2023, subject to EFL and FA ratification.
The former Lincoln City stopper initially signed in November 2020 to compete with Jamal Blackman and Viktor Johansson for the number one jersey and was an integral figure in the goalkeeping group at Roundwood.
Whilst the form of the Swede and the on-loan Chelsea stopper ultimately prevented Vickers from making his Millers debut, his performances and high standards in training clearly impressed first team goalkeeping coach Andy Warrington and manager Paul Warne enough to hand him fresh terms in South Yorkshire.
Now, having committed his future to an extended stay with the Millers, Vickers admitted that he is looking forward to competiting for a place between the sticks throughout the course of the next campaign.
“I’m delighted, I had a year here last season to get to know everyone and it was a no-brainer for me to sign a new deal with the club,” Vickers told www.themillers.co.uk.
“Me and Andy (Warrington) worked really well together at Lincoln and I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to work with him again here. Obviously it helps knowing someone and when you enjoy working with them it can bring the best out of you, so it is a massive plus."
“Last year we had a great group and we were pushing each other every day. That can only help people perform better each day. I’m looking forward to working with Viktor again and we’re going to push each other this year and see what happens.”
Having signed just under two months into the 2020/21 campaign previously, the 25-year-old was pleased to have sorted his future out early this time around, adding that he is looking forward to helping the team towards what he hopes is a promotion challenge in the forthcoming season.
“Last year I signed quite late, so it is a massive bonus to have everything sorted out early this time around,” Vickers explained.
“It really helps knowing exactly where I’m going to be next season and not having to worry about my future, I now can’t wait to get going for pre-season.
“We’d have loved to have stayed in the Championship, but it is a new year and a new challenge. We’re looking forward to seeing how we progress this season.
“The aim is to always finish as high as we can, the last two times we’ve gone down we’ve managed to come straight back up, so I’m sure that will be the aim again this year.”