Rotherham United may have a close eye on Sheffield Wednesday situation for one clear reason | OneFootball

Rotherham United will be hoping that Sheffield Wednesday can break their record for the lowest ever Championship points total this season.

It is fair to say there is no love lost between South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United, but the Millers may be keeping a closer eye on the Owls' fortunes than usual this season.

Amid a summer of chaos under former owner Dejphon Chansiri, Wednesday lost a number of their star players during the window, and as they faced serious restrictions on their transfer activity, they were left with a threadbare squad heading into the season.

Given their lack of depth and quality, the Owls were already facing an uphill battle to avoid relegation from the Championship, and their survival hopes were dealt a huge blow when they were given a 12-point deduction in October after Chansiri put the club into administration.

Chansiri may no longer be in control at Hillsborough, but Wednesday are still dealing with the consequences of his mismanagement, and they were hit with a fresh six-point deduction this week as a punishment for the frequent late wage payments during the final months of the Thai businessman's tenure.

The Owls currently sit a staggering 27 points from safety after their latest sanction, meaning relegation to League One is a near certainty this season, but they could about to set a new record on their way down, which would be good news for Rotherham.

Rotherham United hold unwanted Championship record that Sheffield Wednesday could break

While they are now in their second consecutive season in the third tier, Rotherham have spent much of the past decade bouncing between the Championship and League One.

The Millers built up a reputation as a team that were often too good for League One, but they could not quite make the step up to the Championship, and incredibly, between 2016 and 2022, they had six consecutive seasons that ended in either promotion or relegation.

It is perhaps not too much of a surprise that Rotherham have struggled to establish themselves in the second tier given that they have usually operated on a significantly lower budget than the rest of the league, but while survival has frequently proven to be elusive, even competing has been a challenge for them on a number of occasions, most notably in the 2016-17 season.

The Millers had successfully stayed in the Championship for the two previous seasons, but after consecutive 21st-placed finishes, their luck finally ran out as they were relegated in humiliating fashion.

After Neil Warnock departed in the summer of 2016 at the end of his contract after masterminding a great escape, Rotherham would have been hoping that the appointment of Alan Stubbs would mark the start of a bright new era for the club, but he won just one of his 13 league games in charge before being sacked in October with his side bottom of the table.

The Millers then turned to experienced former Millwall and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Kenny Jackett to salvage their season, but he resigned just 39 days after signing a three-and-a-half year contract having picked up just one point from his five games at the helm.

Paul Warne initially replaced Jackett on an interim basis, and despite being unable to save Rotherham from relegation, he was handed the job on a permanent basis in April, but he led his side to just four wins in the final five months of the season.

The Millers ended the campaign with just 23 points, with a record of five wins, eight draws and 33 defeats, and that remains the record for the lowest ever Championship points total to this day, but that could be about to change amid Wednesday's current plight.

Rotherham United will be hoping that Sheffield Wednesday can spare them from Championship humiliation

Such has been their struggles at Championship level over the years, Rotherham came close to breaking their own record in the 2023-24 season when they were relegated with just 27 points after a dismal campaign under Matt Taylor and Leam Richardson.

Thankfully for the Millers, they managed to avoid that particular indignity, and they will now be hoping that their unwanted second tier record could be taken off their hands altogether this season by Wednesday.

The Owls currently sit bottom of the Championship table on -10 points after their double deduction, meaning that they will need to accumulate a total of 33 points during the remainder of the season just to equal Rotherham's record.

Wednesday have won just one of their 18 league games so far this season, drawing five and losing 12, and even if the 18 points they have had deducted were added back on, they would still be sat at the foot of the table on eight points, underlining just how much Henrik Pedersen's side have struggled.

Having averaged only 0.67 points per game this season, it is incredibly difficult to see the Owls getting anywhere near the points tally that would be needed to avoid setting a new record, and while they will likely make it into positive points eventually, there is a chance they could finish the campaign with a single digit points tally.

Wednesday have had the upper hand on Rotherham over the years, and Millers supporters will have painful memories of the Owls poaching the likes of Michael Ihiekwe and Michael Smith in recent times, so they will feel little sympathy for the predicament of their near neighbours, but they will be thankful to them if they can save them from their Championship embarrassment.