Musing Miller: Scott’s time running out

The fans turned their back on the manager for the first time last weekend as Rotherham lost to Port Vale.

A single goal from a penalty was enough for Port Vale to take all three points at Don Valley Stadium.

Port Vale were an average team that the Millers should have beaten but the performance was poor and at times they didn’t look like they knew what was going on.

The midfielders seemed disorganised and unsure of what they should have been doing.

This led to the fans reacting to what they saw on the pitch, with a large amount of the crowd having left before the final whistle.

During and after the game fans showed their discontent for the decisions being made and the performance on the pitch.

Once the manager loses the trust of the fans it is a slippery slope for him to be on.

Of course the fans have a right to voice their opinions, as they are the ones who are paying to watch and provide a large income for the club.

They may be turning their back on Scott too early though.

The loan signings Scott has made put in some of the best performances against Port Vale.

In particular defender Scott Griffiths, who is at the club until the end of the season, shone against Vale.

He naturally linked up with Sam Wood who returned to the squad and produced some good play going forward.

Scott clearly has the ability and experience to bring in the right players and get them to respond to him.

For some reason the players never seem to play the way that he wants them to from the start of the match.

Several times this year the team have put in a much more assured performance in the second half after not playing well in the first 45 minutes.

The manager needs to make this happen in the first half as well. If he can the team will win a lot more matches than they are currently doing.