Having achieved back-to-back promotions to reach the Championship, fans of Rotherham United would have been fully aware that their side faced an uphill battle to stay in the second tier.
The Millers underwent a huge overhaul of players during the summer, with both temporary and permanent deals being made in an attempt to give themselves a fighting chance during the 2014-15 campaign.
It appears to have worked after the first half of the season too, with Steve Evans's side entering 2015 with a three-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how they have fared during their time in the Championship so far.
August
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Rotherham could not have wished for a tougher test on the opening day of the season as they travelled to automatic promotion candidates Derby County, but the Millers made a promising start. They ultimately emerged from the iPro Stadium with nothing, but many were expecting a more convincing victory for the hosts than the one-goal margin they managed.
The 1-0 scoreline proved to be a common theme of August, with Evans's men beating Fleetwood Town by a solitary extra-time goal in the first round of the League Cup before also riding their luck to scrape past Wolverhampton Wanderers for their first league win of the season.
Another promotion hopeful came to New York Stadium during what was a tough run of fixtures to start the campaign, and sure enough Watford ran out 2-0 winners, with both goals coming in the final 20 minutes. Rotherham's first away win of the season came next, however, as they squeezed past Millwall, again by a solitary goal.
Swansea City provided a difficult test in the second round of the League Cup, but Rotherham gave a good account of themselves at the Liberty Stadium before falling to a 1-0 defeat. They ended a topsy-turvy month with another loss, once again drawing a blank against Brentford.
September
Summer signing Jordan Bowery got September off a bright start as his 93rd-minute goal rescued a point away to high-flying Bournemouth - the first match of Rotherham's season that had seen both sides score. Goals were certainly not in short supply at the Macron Stadium a few days later, with three coming in the final 10 minutes as Bolton Wanderers grabbed a dramatic 3-2 victory - the Trotters' first win of the season.
The Millers were once again forced to come from behind the following weekend, but this time they held on for a point at home to Charlton Athletic. They could not recover from two goals inside the opening 10 minutes against Ipswich Town in their next outing, but ended their six-match winless streak with victory over Blackburn Rovers three days later.
October
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October provided an unbeaten month for the Millers, although draws were very much the order of the day. Sure enough, they began with a share of the spoils at Carrow Road courtesy of a Norwich City equaliser 13 minutes from time, but they did pick up their only win of the month after the international break as they came from behind to beat Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
They took the lead three times against Fulham in their next match, but each time the Cottagers fought back and eventually left New York Stadium with a point courtesy of a 90th-minute equaliser in a 3-3 thriller. There was less drama but still only a solitary point in the final game of the month as they drew 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex.
November
A five-match unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end at the start of November as title challengers Middlesbrough ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a match that saw Bowery receive a red card just four minutes after coming on as a first-half sub. Another 3-0 defeat followed, this time at the hands of Reading, as Rotherham began to slide down the table.
A goalless Yorkshire derby against Sheffield Wednesday did little to help matters, while they failed to score for the fourth match in a row when Birmingham City recorded a 1-0 win at the New York City Stadium. That goal drought finally ended as Bowery netted on his return from suspension, but an 85th-minute equaliser meant that they only managed a point at home to lowly Blackpool.
December
They continued to hover perilously close to the relegation zone going into December, but a goalless draw away to Cardiff City was enough to edge slightly away from danger. Another stalemate followed at home to Nottingham Forest, meaning that Rotherham had managed just one goal in seven matches.
However, they put their scoring troubles behind them at the DW Stadium, ending a nine-match winless streak with a 2-1 triumph over Wigan Athletic. That proved to be their last maximum points haul of the year, although a two-goal comeback to rescue a draw in the final couple of minutes against Huddersfield Town on Boxing Day would have almost felt like a victory for Evans.
Blackpool were next up, but once again Rotherham could not beat the league's bottom club as they played out another 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road to end the year in 19th place.
Star man: Craig Morgan
Must do better: Jordan Bowery
Where to strengthen in January: Midfield
Position at start of 2015: 19th
Mid-season grade: C+
To see Rotherham's remaining fixtures in 2014-15, click here.
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