Rotherham United: Nothing to beat Wembley as frustrated Collin bids Millers farewell

Departing hero Adam Collin says nothing in his career will ever match his Wembley exploits with Rotherham United in the 2014 League One Play-off Final.
Adam Collin engulfed by joyous teammates at WembleyAdam Collin engulfed by joyous teammates at Wembley
Adam Collin engulfed by joyous teammates at Wembley

The goalkeeper pulled off two saves in a penalty shootout to seal a second successive promotion for the Millers and clinch their place in the Championship at the expense of Leyton Orient.

After a season of frustration, the 31-year-old has just been released by Rotherham, but he looks back on that May 25 occasion in London with pride.

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“The Wembley day and the promotion will always rank at the top of my career,” he said. “The team that year was just a solid team. The spine of it was strong - Morgs (Craig Morgan) Arnie (Kari Arnason), Revs (Alex Revell). It was just a good bunch of lads to be around.

Collin made 81 appearances in his three-year spell with the Millers, but played only twice in the 2015/16 campaign before moving on loan to Aberdeen.

“It was a frustrating end to a good period in my career,” he said. “It was disappointing really. It does take a shine off it.

“Even in the Championship at the start it was good, but just to have that all peter out was very disappointing and leaves a little bit of a sour taste.”

His only Millers league match this season, against FulhamHis only Millers league match this season, against Fulham
His only Millers league match this season, against Fulham
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The shot-stopper started 36 second-tier games for Rotherham in 2014/15 before losing his place to loanee Emi Martinez, but his only league action this season came against Fulham at the end of August.

Kelle Roos was preferred in goal for the opening few games and then Lee Camp was signed, leading to Collin’s January move north of the border where he spent most of his time on the Aberdeen bench

“This season hasn’t really worked out the way I hoped,” Collin added. “I have been looking at my options for a while now and Rotherham haven’t been at the forefront of my thoughts.

“Could I have stayed? I don’t really know, I haven’t had much to do with Rotherham since Neil Warnock came in. They have released the other two goalkeepers, Alex Cairns and Paddy Kenny, so they have only got Lee Camp on the books, so there might have been a possibility to have me and Lee there.

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“But obviously that hasn’t happened. I am not going to lose any sleep over it. It’s just time to move on.”

He played only three games for the Scottish Premier League side in five months and is now looking for a new club for next season.

“It was frustrating,” he admitted. “I went up there to play. I got told I was going to play and then you get in the dressing room and you see the team and you’re not in it. You have to sit for 12 games on the bench.

“It’s just a frustrating period of time because I had the chance to go to one or two other clubs and play games and I knocked those back to go to Aberdeen.

Chris Swailes in his Millers heydayChris Swailes in his Millers heyday
Chris Swailes in his Millers heyday
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“That didn’t work out, but I played three times at the end and played against Celtic, which was a massive game. There were highs and lows.”

Meanwhile, former Millers centre-half Chris Swailes became the oldest player to play at Wembley and also the oldest to score as his Morpeth side beat Hereford 4-1 in the FA Vase Final.

The 45-year-old, who had a heart bypass operation two years ago, played in 167 league matches for Rotherham between 2001 and 2005.