Joe Ralls still remembers the tension surrounding the last time Cardiff City played Rotherham.
Back in April the Bluebirds were battling against relegation and headed to The New York Stadium for a must win game against a fellow basement team.
It eventually took an 87th minute goal from loan star Cedric Kipre to earn a 2-1 win and three vital points that ultimately kept Cardiff just ahead of Reading, Blackpool and Wigan.
Fast forward five months and a new look Cardiff side under Turkish boss Erol Bulut are currently sitting in seventh place and hoping to make The Millers their fourth successive victim in the Championship on Saturday – even without the services of injured Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey.
“We’re in a really good place after a nine-point week. They don’t come around very often and I haven’t seen many of those in my time at the club,” admitted Ralls, who has been a Bluebird since first signing in 2011.
“We just want to try to carry on that form into the Rotherham game. When we went to them last season it was under very different circumstances.
“It was a massive game for us and helped us to get our Championship status over the line. Now we are looking up and trying to carry on what we’ve been doing this season.”
Nobody knows Cardiff City better than Ralls having made 358 appearances for the club.
He has become a cult hero in the Welsh capital and had a season in the Premier League in 2018-19 after helping City to gain automatic promotion the previous season.
Even though they once again came straight back down after one season in the top-flight, Ralls helped the side to reach the Championship play-offs in the 2019-20 campaign before bowing out to Fulham.
Since then there has been a steady decline under six different managers.
“The fans have got behind the new manager and the new players this season and they can really feel the team is going in the right direction,” added Ralls.
“We are playing good football under Erol Bulut and we are scoring goals, which is always good for confidence. We struggled in that department last season.
“We are a different team, playing with a different style under a new manager, and it is exciting.”