Will postponement be a help or a hindrance to Rotherham United?

After a recent two-week break due to a coronavirus outbreak at the Millers, this time the weather conspired against them.

The pitch at the AESSEAL New York Stadium was perfectly playable until the lunchtime snow quickly came down in South Yorkshire and froze the game off.

A lengthy meeting between referee Andy Davies, Rotherham boss Paul Warne and his Cardiff counterpart Neil Harris was held, but as the white stuff kept on falling a decision was made to postpone the game.

In truth, it suited Warne's side. After all, three of their players had only been out of self-isolation for a couple of days and the squad had been unable to train outdoors due to the cold weather.

But it leaves Rotherham out of kilter in the Championship and they slid in the bottom three as teams around them have made ground over the Millers' extended period of inactivity.

They do have as many as three games in hand on some of those teams, but Rotherham will be playing catch-up probably for the rest of the season.

It will also mean there will a packed fixture list between now and May, with little room for manoeuvre for further postponements, either due to the weather or Covid-19.

A statement released by the club shortly after the decision was made, read: “Rotherham United’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Cardiff City at AESSEAL New York Stadium, scheduled to be played on 2nd January 2021, has been postponed.

“Following a pitch inspection by today’s match referee shortly before 2pm and subsequent conversations with both managers, the decision has been taken to call off the game in the interest of player safety.

“A late flurry of snow in South Yorkshire and the forecast for the rest of the day on Saturday were both key factors in the decision to postpone the fixture.”

No new date has been arranged and the Millers now have a free week before next week's FA Cup third round tie at Everton.