Coventry City v Rotherham United - No way is this a relegation encounter, says Paul Warne

IT is too early to brand Rotherham United’s trip to Coventry City as a relegation six-pointer, insists Millers manager Paul Warne.
Rotherham United manager Paul Warne: Faces former team-mate.Rotherham United manager Paul Warne: Faces former team-mate.
Rotherham United manager Paul Warne: Faces former team-mate.

Warne will be in the opposite dugout to former team-mate Mark Robins as the pair played together at Rotherham during the Ronnie Moore era in the early 2000s.

Only one point separates the sides, who were both promoted from League One last campaign, with the Sky Blues sitting just above Warne’s charges in the Championship ladder.

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Rotherham head into the fixture on the back of two encouraging performances against promotion contenders Bournemouth and Brentford.

They only have one point to show for their efforts, however, and Warne feels the Millers’ position is not a fair reflection on how they have played this season.

“You don’t want to get pulled into the bottom three and our performances haven’t deserved that,” said Warne.

“We go into the game against Coventry with them a point and a place above us.

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“All we can do as coaches is get the best out of the players we have got. All I can ask from my players is to tank out and give me everything they have got.

“If their performances are good, that normally drives results. We have not accumulated enough points for what we want to do this season but we are not going to put any more pressure on the performances.

“We hope with a bit tweaking here and there and some better finishing, that might be enough to get us the desired points.”

He added: “I don’t think in the first week of December that any game is a six-pointer.

“I am expecting a really tough game.”

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Warne hopes to see fans back in stadia across the country in the near future after some EFL clubs were able to welcome supporters back in limited capacity on Wednesday.

“Without fans, it doesn’t seem as good,” admitted Warne, who says his team are desperately missing the Millers faithful.

“The games I have watched this week in the Championship have been poor, which is the nicest way to put it.

“If fans were there, whether it would help it look better or feel better, I don’t know.

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“Fans are more important than ever, it has been a good learning curve for players.”

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