Matt Hamshaw confident of turning things around after Rotherham loss at Bradford

Rotherham manager Matt Hamshaw is still confident of turning things around after they suffered a fourth straight defeat.

The Millers remain in 23rd in League One following the 1-0 loss against high-flying Bradford at Valley Parade.

Matthew Pennington’s 10th-minute header clinched a fourth home win in a row for the Bantams, who moved up to fourth.

The result will increase the pressure on Hamshaw but he said: “That’s totally out of my hands. All I can do is control the controllables, as I keep saying.

“I’m fighting, I’m scrapping, we’re getting the best out of the group at this moment in time.

“We’re in a scrap; we’re in a fight. I understand with the fans that I’m probably not everybody’s cup of tea at this moment in time.

“However, I think people are seeing what we’re trying to do now, with the reception we got at the end.

“I thought the performance was OK. It was a difficult game and obviously Bradford are a really good team here at home.

“I thought we limited them to not a lot of chances. We switched off at a crucial part with Brandon Cover, who is learning the game a little bit, turning his back and then they score a goal.

“I felt we had a good reaction. But we should be doing better in certain areas in that final third.

“We lost the game again and that’s my frustration.”

Pennington produced a thumping header after Tyreik Wright was left unmarked by Cover to cross.

Rotherham gave a league debut to goalkeeper Ted Cann, who was grateful for the woodwork when Jenson Metcalfe’s free-kick clipped the bar.

The Millers failed to register an effort on target, although Cann went close with a header from a corner in added time.

Bradford manager Graham Alexander said: “It was gritty but it was a local derby and two teams that need the points for different reasons.

“I thought both teams competed at a really high level but we had the better chances and obviously scored the goal.

“It was an absolutely, unbelievable header and great play leading up to it.

“If we get a second from Jenson’s free-kick, then it makes it a bit more comfortable.

“It was just the set-piece at the end and the keeper headed it and it’s like ‘please no’. But I thought it would have been harsh on us if we hadn’t won that game tonight.

“I thought the team defended exceptionally well because they’ve got really good individuals within their squad.

“They never stop competing against us, trying to get in behind us, committing bodies forward. So we had to be defensively really strong.

“But to get that goal in the first half kept the atmosphere positive.”