How Paul Warne has helped change the outlook at Rotherham United

Granted, United are enjoying another strong season in the third tier for the third occasion in a row and are well placed to make it a hat-trick of promotions under Paul Warne, but his time in charge has achieved something more substantive and worthy, according to long-time assistant Richie Barker.

In his view, it has put the club’s name back on the football map for all the right reasons with the Millers being an example to follow for many others, chiefly in the bottom two divisions.

Barker said: “When you cast your minds back nearly five years to when I first walked through the door, the club was unrecognisable to what it is now.

“We had a group of players who were used to losing and an environment and culture that was not about improving as a group of players.

“We had, in my opinion, an unsustainable wage bill that was never going to be able to continue and (was) probably putting an immense strain on the football club. We had no saleable assets and no winning mentality.

“We all hope to get a third one (promotion). But if we don’t, the main thing is that it is a football club now which has a lot of respect from the outside and has a group of players who want to play for the club for the right reasons and a group of staff who are attached to the club as well.

“It is hopefully something that nine or 10,000 people who turn up on a regular basis enjoy watching and feel like they have a connection to the place.

“The players show an immense work ethic, listen and do the right things and a good group of people and the turnaround now is that it’s a football club which people talk about now away from the club for the right, as opposed to wrong, reasons.”

The Millers’ scheduled League One home game with Lincoln City last night was postponed due to a frozen pitch at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

It is the second postponement of the fixture, with the initial meeting between the two sides, scheduled for December 29, being called off after Lincoln informed the English Football League that they would be unable to fulfil the game due to a number of positive Covid cases in their squad.

The Millers are due to return to action at home to Cheltenham on Saturday.