One to Watch – Danny Ward

Name: Danny Ward
Date of Birth: 11/12/1991
Previous clubs: Bolton Wanderers, Swindon Town (L), Coventry City (L), Huddersfield Town (L), Huddersfield Town.
Apps (goals): 251 (45)

Given Rotherham`s perilous position at the foot of the Championship, with just one win to their name, striker Danny Ward`s eight goal tally from 19 league games is an impressive return from the 24-year-old, with just five other players in the division having found the net on more occasions than the Yorkshireman so far this term.

Just two more goals would see Ward equal his best goalscoring return to date, which came during the 2013/2014 campaign for former club Huddersfield, and the Millers could have a battle on their hands to retain his services once the transfer window reopens, which would be a major blow in their bid to avoid the drop.

He began his career with Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League side at the time he made his professional debut for the Trotters, then under the management of Gary Megson, who have Ward two substitute appearances against Sunderland and Hull at the start of the 2009/2010 season, before a loan switch to Swindon Town.

Joining the League One club in December of that campaign, it proved a bittersweet few months for Ward, as he bagged nine goals for the Robins while featuring alongside Charlie Austin in attack, but it would end in bitter disappointment as Swindon were narrowly seen off 1-0 by Millwall in the Play-Off final at Wembley.

His form while at the County Ground saw him rewarded with a three-year-deal upon his return to Bolton, but with little chance of breaking into Owen Coyle`s first team squad, he was made available for another temporary move to get some more regular football under his belt, and several clubs declared an interest.

Another two loan spells followed the next season, the first with Coventry City, for whom he made five Championship appearances, a move that was cut short due to injury, before a return to the third tier in March 2010, as he moved to Huddersfield, where he bagged four goals in 10 games at the business end of the season.

For a second successive season, Ward found himself on the end of a defeat in a League One Play-Off final as the Terriers were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Peterborough at Old Trafford, and he joined Huddersfield on a permanent basis, as manager Lee Clark moved to secure his services on a three-year deal from Bolton.

Five goals during the 2011/2012 helped the club to make it into the Play-Offs once again, and at the third time of asking, he found himself on the winning side in the final as Huddersfield defeated Sheffield United on penalties, with Ward watching the shootout as a spectator having been replaced in the first half of extra time.

16 more goals followed for the club over the next two and a half years as Huddersfield remained in the second tier, but his time at the John Smith`s Stadium came to an end as the club gave him the green light to move to Rotherham on an emergency loan deal in January 2015, which was turned into a permanent deal days later.

Ward signed a contract at the New York Stadium until the summer of 2017, which is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, which could force the club`s hierarchy to listen to offers in January for their star man, whose target of 20 goals for the campaign looks likely to reach the halfway point by the end of the year.

Despite his side`s dismal form, he will fancy his chances of netting against a Rangers side that has failed to keep a clean sheet in the last five, and once in the previous 15 matches in all competitions, and with relegation a real threat for Rotherham, Ward will be playing to put himself in the shop window over the coming months.