ROTHERHAM UNITED manager Paul Warne admits that the club are likely to need to recruit 'seven, eight or nine players' this summer - and says that it is likely to will also lose some stars.

With the dust now settling following the club's third instant promotion back to the Championship under his watch, thoughts are turning towards recruitment.

Rotherham also have a host of players out of contract including talismanic striker Michael Smith, who is out of contract next month and attracting rival interest from the second tier.

The Millers are speaking to the 29-year-old about a new deal. Chiedozie Ogbene's contract also runs out, but the club can activate a clause to keep him for an additional 12 months.

Jamie Lindsay, Michael Ihiekwe, Viktor Johansson, Mickel Miller, Joe Mattock and Josh Kayode are among others whose deals expire.

Warne said: "I think we are going to have deal with the punches as they come. Are we going to lose a couple of players? Maybe..

"We will have to recruit other ones? Yes.

"When you go up, of course you want to keep your best players. What we did last year with Smudge - and I said it and I don't think people believed me - we did not have to sell Smudge (Smith) when we went down to League One. The chairman was happy to let his contract run out and lose value, but we got use out of him.

"This year, we have a lot of players with a year left on their contracts. If the money is not right for the club, they won't sell. So we'll keep them and that's good. But if we keep them, it has to be for the right price that allows us to replace them.

"We will need to recruit seven, eight or nine players who are better than the team we have, which is a very, very difficult ask.

"Virtually, every year I have been in management, we have had to rebuild the team every summer and this is no different.

"We just hope new characters will bring joy to the team and something different and attack the league like we always have."

Rotherham United boss Paul Warne targets 'seven, eight or nine' new signings