Lee Clark admits ‘big job ahead’ after Rotherham relegation

Lee Clark accepts Rotherham have “a big job ahead” of them after defeat at Wigan confirmed their relegation from League One.

Goals from Jason Kerr, Joe Taylor and Callum Wright sealed a 3-0 victory which gave a potentially decisive boost to Wigan’s own survival hopes but sent the visitors down.

Clark told BBC Radio Sheffield: “It’s like groundhog day, isn’t it? I keep repeating myself, and you don’t want to because I already said it on Saturday.

“I thought we had to change the system because we didn’t have a left-back fit in the club. The 19 players that were here were the 19 fit players I’ve got in the football club, so we tried to get a system and personnel out there that could do something in the game.

“We did some good things in the first half, we gave a really awful goal away, and it’s the same players making the same errors.

“We work with them individually, we work with them collectively, we put things on the footage, we show them their clips and where they need to improve, but they carry on making the same mistakes.

“And then the second half, we just conceded a poor second goal and then you couldn’t tell what shape we had for 10 minutes because the players were just running around, not getting anywhere near the Wigan players.

“It doesn’t come across well for me because it’s my team. There’s too many not so good things, we’re not a robust squad, we’re not a fit squad in terms of physical capabilities, we haven’t got the fire in our bellies.

“There are some exceptions to the rule. One positive tonight was young Cohen Lee – outstanding, he only came off because it was his debut and he probably ran out of steam. His temperament, his willingness to get on the ball, his application and his desire were superb.

“But another awful day at the office and it must be very tough being a Rotherham United fan at this moment in time. I’m really sad for the good people at the football club, so a big, big job ahead.”

Wigan manager Gary Caldwell said his players ‘deserve a lot of credit’ for the way they have turned their fortunes around with a third win in a row.

Latics are now eight points above the relegation zone with just three games remaining and Caldwell said: “I think all the players deserve a lot of credit. The situation we were in wasn’t easy.

“We’re still not mathematically safe, we still want to pick up as many points as we can from now until the end of the season, but what the players have done in the 13 games since I’ve been here has been exceptional, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Caldwell heaped praise on midfielder Matt Smith, who was the best player on the pitch and produced an exquisite assist for Taylor’s goal in the second half.

“I thought he was brilliant,” said Caldwell. “I thought his ability on the ball, his ability to change the speed of the game and his ability to calm the game down were exceptional, and in the second half, I thought he was excellent.”