Same old story for Rotherham United as Paul Warne rues missed opportunities in another narrow defeat

Rotherham are nothing if not consistent at the minute.
Rotherham United's Michael Smith tries to find a path through Reading during their Championship match at the New Yorks Stadium on SaturdayRotherham United's Michael Smith tries to find a path through Reading during their Championship match at the New Yorks Stadium on Saturday
Rotherham United's Michael Smith tries to find a path through Reading during their Championship match at the New Yorks Stadium on Saturday

The 1-0 loss to Reading on Saturday was their fourth such result in a row and it leaves them in the Championship relegation mire.

The January and early February resurgence, that saw them pick up 13 points in six games, feels like a long time ago and the four 1-0s form a run of five losses in a row.

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The points have dried up, the clean sheets have dried up and worryingly, the goals have dried up.

It is not like the Millers are not creating chances, they are, but their lack of killer instinct is hurting them.

Having conceded to Michael Morrison's scrappy goal before half-time, Paul Warne s side never really looked like getting back into the game.

Indeed, they did not have a shot on target until deep into the final 10 minutes.

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Yet boss Warne, felt they had done enough to get a point, with a deflected Ben Wiles shot rolled inches wide of the post.

Warne said: “I think against a good Reading team, we created enough to get something out of it.

“But you're judged by your two boxes and we just weren't good enough in the final third.

“I was just waiting for the net to ripple. Lady Luck has eluded us with the deflected shot. We had to change our shape which was a massive blow but all in all, that's five defeats on the spin all by a single goal.

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“We have to dig in and fight for survival but I just don't think we are taking our chances in the final third. We didn't do enough to come away with anything.

“We are creating chances, we're just not taking them. Sometimes you need one chance to win a game. If we weren't creating anything it would be an even bigger problem.

“We have got 15 absolute fights ahead of us to stay up.”

The first of those fights is a crunch game at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls are one of two teams below the Millers, who are five points adrift of the relegation zone.