Rotherham United coach on why Neil Warnock and Paul Warne are alike as managers

Sheffield-born Warnock, 73, who counts Leeds United, Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough and Scarborough among his former clubs along with the Millers, announced his retirement on Saturday.

Warnock, who played for the Millers, Barnsley and York City in his playing career, left his most recent job at Boro in November and enjoyed a long and successful managerial career spanning 41 years across 16 different clubs.

The Yorkshireman - who managed 1,603 games in total - holds the record for promotions in English football with eight, notably taking his boyhood club Sheffield United into the Premier League in 2006.

His spell at Rotherham may have only been short, but his achievements in helping the club stave off the drop when there looked to be virtually no hope whatever in the winter of 2016 is regarded by him as one of the biggest feats of his epic managerial career.

Hamshaw, part of the coaching staff at the club when Warnock took over, said: "I have lots of stories. What a guy, what an unbelievable servant to football and such a funny manager.

"To me, he is not too dissimilar to our manager (Paul Warne) in getting the best out of people. He is just comedy gold.

"He is a proper football man and the heart and soul of whichever room he is in and always has a story to tell. He has always got something going on and with his camaraderie with players, he creates this mentality of 'us against the world.'

"I laugh with the players here because he used to wrap his strikers up in cotton wool and they got treated like absolute gods and the defenders would have to train every day, be in on Sunday and be heading crossbars. He sent them out really, really angry, but strikers got treated like gods.

"You used to see defenders walking out - Woody (Richard Wood) will probably tell you - who were that angry with him that strikers got treated like that they would boot the opposiiton striker to prove a point.

"It was just 'genius'. You look back and wow, there were so many many good things you learnt from him, like how to manage people.

"He was a great servant to the game and whenever we have come up against him, he has always been courteous and polite.

"He has obviously got an affinity to the club and us because we helped him when we were staff here. The job he did to keep the club up that season was incredible. He was an unbelievable guy who deserves some rest and time with his family.

"He has been a real good success story and is someone you look up to and want to emulate - to stay in the game as long as he has done."