Paul Warne sees plenty of managerial potential in his Rotherham United squad

Talent, fitness, physicality and organisation may be chief among them, but there are other less obvious ones such as leadership.

The Millers are led on the pitch by a redoubtable captain in Richard Wood, close to signing a fresh deal with the club, yet there are many others who are standard-bearers in their own right and possible coaches and managers of the future.

That is the verdict of Millers manager Paul Warne, whose desire to surround himself not just with good players, but ‘good people’ is reaping a harvest again amid a season which has the potential to be a truly special one.

Warne, whose first-placed Millers side are unbeaten in 21 matches in all competitions, said: “I can definitely see Woody going down that [management] route when he stops playing.

“I think it will be harder than he thinks, though. I think he looks now and thinks: ‘That doesn’t look too bad, Gaffer’ .

“It’s like an iceberg or a swan. though. You can’t see what’s going on under the water. It’s mayhem!

“I think Icky [Michael Ihiekwe] will do it too. Icky ‘gets’ the game really well. I also think Wilesy [Ben Wiles] will. He definitely understands and loves the game.

“Loving it is crucial because you have to live and breathe it every day. I can see both goalkeepers doing it as well.

“Their attitude is immaculate. They’re first in, last out and watch all their clips. Their attention to detail is really good.

“Out of all of them, Icky is the one who is a good talker and has a real appreciation of the game.

“He has a bit of a presence about him. He looks quite good as well, doesn’t he? He’d look excellent on the team photos!”

Warne quipped: “A few of the lads might have to stay in the game because I am not sure they would know what else to do.

“I look at them and think: ‘These are going to struggle in the real world!’

“They need to get themselves a kitman’s job quickly!”

Rotherham are two matches away from equalling their club record run of 18 league matches without defeat, with both feats previously set in the 1950-51 and 1969-1970 seasons respectively.