Rotherham United’s midfield maestro Sidni Simmons is a lifelong Millers fan and spoke to SYWF about her aims of taking the club through the divisions, her footballing journey, and the challenges along the way.
Since joining Rotherham three years ago, she’s won the League Plate, She Believes Trophy, made the League Cup final and was named the managers Player of the Year in 2023/24.
But how did she come to play for her childhood side? Sidni spoke about her early journey within the game:
“I first started playing around the age of three with my brothers and cousins, and I went to my first Rotherham match around that time as well.
“I joined my first club when I was five or six, but I was playing in a boys team because there weren’t many girls teams around back then.
“Eventually when I was nine, I signed for the Sheffield United Centre of Excellence which was the first all girls team I played in.
“I was there for about a year before moving to the Doncaster Rovers Belles ETC. I started playing a couple of years above my age, and I stayed there for about eight years.”
Sidni made it all the way from the under 12’s to the first team at Doncaster Rovers Belles, however joined Rotherham two and a half years ago.
- Read More – A-Z: Sidni Simmons Edition
“I had Nick Buxton as my coach back then and he put me out on loan to Rotherham to get more first team minutes and more experience in senior football because I’d just moved into it.
“Once the loan was up, I decided to stay because they have a great setup, the coaches are fantastic, the team is lovely and there’s a lot of belief within the team.“
But the journey hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. Sidni spoke about her biggest challenges along the way.
“I don’t want to be big-headed or anything, but when I was playing alongside boys, if I was better than them, certain people would take it the wrong way, but I actually think it made me a better player. I could deal with the pace of the game and became stronger, both mentally and physically.
“There’s now better pathways into the first team. Instead of big jumps from youth football to senior football, it’s now a lot more gradual.
“I do think more backing in from the men’s side is still needed.“
Since joining Rotherham, Sidni has gone from strength to strength, asserting herself as one of the first names on the team sheet. She spoke about her progress and time with the Millers.
“Personally I’ve developed a lot since I’ve been here. I joined when I was 16 so I’ve developed physically but also adapting to senior football requires big changes and so to have picked up things like the managers Player of the Year last season, and Goal of this Year this season, they’re testament to my development.
This season, Rotherham came third in the League behind Sheffield FC and Chesterfield, while also making it to the League Cup final where they were defeated 2-0 by Sheffield FC.
Commenting on the season, Sidni said: “As a team I think we’ve had a positive season especially when you consider where we started.
“I think we definitely deserved more, but from where we started to where we finished, it was definitely a huge success.
The team endured a difficult start to the season, and were winless after their first four games. This start saw the club appoint Adam Rawlings as the new first team manager.
“Adam coming in changed a lot for the better, but I think we could have gotten more. All things considered though, third was still a good place to be at the end of the season and we’ll definitely be carrying a lot of momentum into next year.
“I think the way Adam coaches, the belief he instils in the team helps push us and promotion is the aim!“
Promotion may be the aim for the club, but Sidni also revealed her own personal aims, both short term and long term.
“I want to develop into more of a leadership role within the team. Obviously I’m getting older now, there’s younger people coming in so I think I can use my experience to help them.
“Long term I want to play as high as I can but Rotherham are my childhood club so to represent them and get them through the leagues would mean a lot more than jumping to a higher team and playing there.
“I definitely feel the club have the potential to be able to progress with me. It’s what Adam has said all along is his ambition.
“He wants the players that come in now to be able to play in the higher divisions and so build a team that can last quite a few years.
“The club’s put in a lot of actions behind the scenes to try and help us achieve that as well.“
You can check out our full podcast with Rotherham United Manager, Adam Rawlings on Spotify or YouTube.
