When your surname is Washington, you’re always going to feel at home in New York.
Following the expiration of his contract with Charlton Athletic, Conor was moving to New York for another crack at the Sky Bet Championship and has already endeared himself to the Rotherham faithful with his work rate and willingness to run the channels.
And during the recent game with Reading, he helped himself to his first goal in Rotherham colours, too. Racing onto Dan Barlaser’s pass, he took aim at Joe Lumley’s near post from a tight angle and saw an ambitious effort thunder into the roof of the net. It was like Christmas came early, for him.
“It was probably going one of three places: in the net, in the keeper’s face or out the stadium, so I was delighted to see it fly in,” Washington told www.themillers.co.uk.
“It’s something that has been a criticism of me throughout my career, that I’ve not scored a lot of goals. The manager spoke to me about it during the ‘interview process’ on Zoom before I joined, it is something I’ve always wanted to do.
“Sometimes, I think my willingness to run is maybe counterintuitive to that, but the manager is helping me day in day out to get better and get shots off – he’s been screaming at me for that! I know I’m 30, but I still think I have a lot to learn and I feel comfortable in the fact that I want to do that, too.
“We do finishing in training day in day out and it is really important. We look at different angles, the type of finish and the number of touches. The Gaffer takes a lot of that and it is good to learn from another striker."
“I think it helps build your confidence, too, because I’ve had so many repetitions during the week that when it comes to a chance, you don’t even think about it.”
Having been the first one through the door in the summer, Conor was keen to voice it out loud, just how much he has been enjoying his time in South Yorkshire.
“The Manager, Richie and Hammy all sold the club to me, but as much as you want to buy into it, you’re not always sure if it is going to live up to it, but it definitely has.
“We’ve got such a great group of lads here and I think that is testament to the recruitment process here and the due diligence that goes in to signing all the players.
“Training is fantastic every day and to be honest, this is probably the most I’ve enjoyed my football in a long time.”