Rotherham United: 'We were second best from start to finish' says Millers boss Matt Taylor after 4-2 defeat to Hull City at the new York stadium

Taylor is quickly learning all about the pitfalls of the Championship as hot on the heels of their super rearguard performance in the 1-0 win at Stoke in midweek, the Millers delivered a display like this.

They were second best in all areas of the pitch and the scoreline could have been more damning had it not been for more heroics from goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

They fell behind to a scrappy goal from Jacob Greaves but Dan Barlaser, with the only real moment of quality all afternoon, levelled before the break with a fine finish.

But the second half was bad and goals from Cyrus Christie, Ryan Longman and Ozan Tufan put the Tigers on course for a comfortable victory.

Georgie Kelly’s late goal was nothing more than a consolation and did little to lift the mood.

“It was a really tough day. We were second best from start to finish,” Taylor said.

“We couldn't cover areas of the pitch well enough. When we were close to the ball, we never came out with it in our favour or in our direction.

“That's a fair enough reflection of the game.

“There were some really poor moments of execution when we did have the ball. “Uncharacteristically, we were kicking the ball out of play, we misplaced passes, we lost a little bit of direction as a team.

“Full credit to the opposition, they've turned us into that. We looked a little bit leggy, which is a surprise because Hull were the team that played on Wednesday as opposed to Tuesday. “It's still a positive week for this group of players and the club but it doesn't feel like that right now.

“As much as we didn't get too high on Tuesday night after the euphoria of Stoke we're not going to get too low today.

“It's an opportunity missed, three points missed, a home game where we didn't want to perform like that. But we have to put it in the context of a positive week for the club.”