No Stallone but Warne dreaming of his own Escape to Victory

Warne plans to score the winning goal for the Millers at Wembley before jumping into the crowd and leaving via the back door.

His stunt would pay homage to the 80s movie starring Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone in which a team of World War II prisoners escape to freedom after a game of football against the Germans.

The Millers visit Aldershot on Saturday for the first leg of the League Two play-off semi-final (kick-off 6pm) and veteran Warne is available after a five-month absence with a broken leg.

One of the most popular players in the club's recent history, Warne was also a member of the Millers squad that won back-to-back promotions under Ronnie Moore nearly a decade ago.

Now 37, time is running out on his playing career but Warne is determined to write another chapter in his story.

"Some people are saying that a winner at Wembley might be a great way for me to retire but I have got an even better plan," he said. "Not too long ago, I watched Escape to Victory and, in the final scene, the players swap coats with the supporters and sneak out the back.

"That would be absolutely brilliant and I would happily take a red card or a booking if it was the goal that had clinched promotion. I would take off my shirt, put on a fan's jacket, and leave with the crowd to celebrate."

Warne has never played at the new Wembley but got his first taste of the experience last weekend when attending the FA Vase final between his former club Wroxham and Whitley Bay. Not surprisingly, that has whetted his appetite for more.

"I was down there doing a bit of radio work but, just walking along after getting off the tube, I was thinking 'wow'. When I got back up here on Monday that was one of the big things I told the other lads.

"You can't afford to waste opportunities like this when they come around – because you never know if you will get another chance. I played at the old Wembley as a 21-year-old for Diss Town but I had never been back until last weekend. As you get older, I think you appreciate these things a little bit more."

Warne, whose first spell with the Millers lasted six years, returned to the fold last summer after a five-year absence. It is now a vastly different club to the one he left behind with a different manager, chairman, and even a new home.

Yet the season was just a few weeks old when manager Mark Robins opted to quit and move to Barnsley.

That opened the door for Moore to take over again as manager and Warne had no complaints.

"When you looked at the list of other people who might have got the job, there were certainly plenty of others on there who I did not want to see in charge," he said. "It took a little while for some of the players to realise what he wanted – but they have got it now. It happens at every club when a new manager comes in," he added.

"You have a group of players who are extremely confident of being on the teamsheet every week but, when another manager comes in, they initially feel threatened and play within themselves."

The Millers would have gone up automatically if they had not lost four games in a row at the end of March but, after losing at Hereford United on the final day of the season, finished fifth in the League Two table.

Warne remains confident that the Millers will still win promotion saying, if they do, it will be the highlight of his career. With or without the goal celebration.