Rotherham United reward Warne and Barker with new, extended deals

Warne, appointed on a permanent basis by the Millers in April 2017 after a temporary spell in charge, has overseen a stunning transformation of the club’s fortunes after their dismal relegation from the Championship last season.

A major overhaul of the playing squad saw them guide the Millers to a fourth-place finish before capping a wonderful season with a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the Wembley finale.

Warne expressed his delight at securing a longer contract and said he would be working hard over the summer with Barker and the rest of his backroom team to ensure Rotherham hit the ground running on their return to the second tier at the first time of asking.

“All of the staff are equally pleased that we’ve got the assurance of the new contract because they’re people that I have brought in and they’ve worked really hard for us, so it’s pleasing for them too to know that we have the backing of the chairman,” said Warne.

“When myself and Richie took over, we wanted to leave a legacy and leave the club in a better condition than when we got it. There were funds available to spend on players last summer but the chairman kindly accepted our suggestion to spend it on developing the training ground and that will help us again this year and will be an asset for the club going forward.

“Every decision we make, whether it be concerning recruitment or the staff and players, we’re always respectful of the budget and we try not to waste a penny. We always try and invest to the benefit of the club and we fully endorse the lads and all the hard work both on the pitch and in the community.

“We’ll keep trying to sign good people and good footballers and I think with that team ethic we’ve seen this season how crucial their allegiance to this club is. It’s not about the ‘me’ it’s about the ‘we’ and that’s what we want here.”

Barker admitted that promotion through the play-offs inevitably cut down their preparation time for the 2018-19 campaign, but it was a challenge he was looking forward to.

“There’s a real positive to take from being promoted in the way that we were, but I think the negative of that is that the new season comes around very quickly,” said Barker. We’re already putting plans in place.”

echoed the sentiments of the first team boss, whilst adding that the hard work continues despite the season finishing just days ago as the club look ahead to 2018/19