Rotherham United warned against immediate Matt Hamshaw action - but ex-Luton Town boss would be 'my number one choice' | OneFootball

FLW's Rotherham United fan pundit has given his verdict on Matt Hamshaw's future

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Matt Hamshaw’s future as Rotherham United manager is under increasing pressure amid the team’s poor run of form.

The Millers find themselves at risk of relegation from League One, with the team sitting inside the bottom four to start the new calendar year.

The club have lost their last five league games in a row, and are winless in their last eight fixtures.

Their last victory came against Lincoln City on 8 November, and this run has seen Hamshaw’s position at Rotherham come under the spotlight.

The Yorkshire outfit are in only their second season back in the third tier after being relegated from the Championship in 2024, but now look more likely to end up in League Two than to return to the second tier.

Rotherham United warned against sacking Matt Hamshaw amid Matt Bloomfield claim

When asked about Hamshaw’s future, FLW’s Rotherham fan pundit Tom Eyre claimed that it’s a tough situation, and that most managers in his position likely should be sacked.

However, he believes that the 44-year-old should remain in charge, as he is behind the coach’s long-term vision for the club.

“This is a question that is posed to our podcast quite a lot, and it’s such a tough question to answer,” Eyre told Football League World.

“Any other situation and most other managers on an eight game winless run would be facing the sack a lot more I think than Matt Hamshaw is.

“For me, I’m still Matt Hamshaw in, but I understand and I have no reason against the people who are Matt Hamshaw out.

“The reason I believe Hamshaw should stay, and is going to stay, is his long-term plan.

“I think he wants to change the club from top to bottom in the next four, five years and it’s not a short-term goal.

“And we’re not too far off a mid-table position, if you can cobble a few wins together.”

However, Eyre has named someone like Matt Bloomfield as a potential option for Rotherham to pursue, should Hamshaw be sacked any time in the near future.

“But, look, if he does go, my number one choice to replace him would probably be someone of a Matt Bloomfield-ilk,” he continued.

“Someone who would be prepared for a rebuild, a proper, proper rebuild, and would be able to take any slack from that, and has proven himself previously.

“That is a very unrealistic option, I’m very well aware.

“But it is someone of that ilk that I can see the only reason why you’d want to replace Hamshaw at this moment in time.”

Rotherham are currently 22nd in the League One table, having earned 24 points from 24 games.

The Millers are four points adrift of safety, meaning they need to put an end to this losing run quickly in order to avoid being left behind.

Hamshaw has been in charge at the New York Stadium since March last year, and he guided the team to a 13th place finish at the end of last season.

Next up for Rotherham is a trip across Yorkshire to face promotion hopefuls Bradford City on 10 January in a 3pm kick-off.

Matt Hamshaw needs results at Rotherham United quickly

Hamshaw may have a long-term plan for Rotherham, but that will all go out the window if the team keeps losing and are relegated to League Two.

The side needs to put an end to this run, otherwise the club will have no choice but to change managers as this is reaching an untenable level.

Rotherham can utilise the January window in order to bolster the squad and help put an end to this rut, but it’ll be difficult to commit to signings when the manager’s future is uncertain.