Rotherham United chief sets 50 points survival target

The Millers, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Coventry City and Nottingham Forest are all putting up a fight in the battle against relegation so it is the group directly above that Warne is hoping to put under real pressure.

That has had to go on hold for the weekend, with today’s scheduled match at home to Queens Park Rangers postponed because of a frozen pitch, but once they get back to it, Warne wants to make the likes of Huddersfield Town, level with QPR on 33 points, fidgety.

“To get through the window the way we did, we didn’t lose any of our best players,” says manager Warne. “It has made the squad tighter and closer and smaller. That, accompanied with the shape (Rotherham have changed formation to a back three) has made it a more positive environment.

“The lads walk onto the pitch with a real belief they can win, instead of compete.

“Over the last X amount of games, we’ve been a lot more clinical and taken a lot more of our chances. I think we are having more attempts on goal – we’re encouraging Smudge (centre-forward Michael Smith) to take shots from difficult angles, lads to shoot through legs, being a bit more forceful on set pieces and that’s allowed good performances to turn into wins.

“I feel we’ve conceded less goals so there’s always more chance of a positive result.

“We were due to play QPR at the weekend (off due to a frozen pitch) and if (Charlie) Austin gets a chance, it’s going in, isn’t it? Compare that to us earlier in the season, when we might have needed three for one of them to go in.

“But as difficult as it is to get confidence, it’s as easy to lose it. It’s a bit like snakes and ladders.”

Rotherham have won four of their seven games in 2021 but the form of others means they are only a point outside the relegation zone. Warne just wants them to keep pushing ahead because in this most unpredictable of seasons more points than usual might be needed to stay up.

“I earmarked before the Derby away game to have any chance of staying up we needed at least 10 wins, so that means seven now,” says Warne, whose side have 29 points from 27 matches. “You’ve got to try and hit 50 at least.

“Wycombe can still put a run together but Wednesday, Forest, those teams are all picking up wins so it might be a record – fourth-bottom might be 58 points or something ridiculous like that. Every weekend at least one of the bottom six is winning.

“From seventh to the bottom there isn’t a great deal of difference between the teams so I don’t think 46 will be enough this year.

“What is definitely different this year and was a little bit last year (in the restarted season), I remember seeing Barnsley at Brentford when they won away and they drew away at Leeds and they were brilliant so I just think there’s more points to be had on the road. It could just be my imagination but QPR beat Watford 2-1 away recently.

“If we had Norwich, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield away for our last three games, people might think we’d get one point whereas now it’s a more level playing field so there are more points for the lesser teams to win.”

With the teams around Rotherham doing so well, Warne’s target at the moment is to reel others in by putting them under pressure. With two points from a possible 18 this year, Huddersfield feel like prime candidates.

“No-one wants to play with any pressure,” he argues. “If you go onto the pitch you have enough internal pressure.

“The other night I saw Sheffield Wednesday had won and I thought, ‘I’d rather Wycombe had won.’ Coventry want all the six teams below them to lose but if they all pick up points, Coventry are thinking, ‘Oh my God,’ and there’s more pressure on the next game.

“The pressure is intensified by the teams around you so if we don’t win this weekend and the teams below us don’t win, it hasn’t been the worst weekend, has it? But if we don’t win and all the teams below us do win, wow, the next game there’s even more pressure – manager’s jobs are under pressure and all of a sudden you can escalate into a problem.

“We can affect the psychology of the teams above. They will say not, they will say it’s all about them, but that’s nonsense.”

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