Rotherham United v Derby County - Paul Warne sure Rams will not be involved in relegation battle

The Millers head into the fixture following another frustrating result as they were beaten by virtually the last kick of the game by Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night.

The result left them level on points with Derby, who beat Swansea City 2-0 in midweek.

The Millers are also level on points with Nottingham Forest and are kept out of the relegation places on goal difference.

However, Warne does not think either club will be involved in the survival fight come the latter stages of the campaign.

“Their players are obviously very good and you can’t expect Derby and Forest to keep losing every week, it’d be naive to think that,” he said.

“If the season ended and they were mid-table you wouldn’t be surprised, they were always going to pick up results and they have players coming back as well.

“When I look at the table, I take Derby and Forest out because I don’t think there’s any chance either of them will be down there come the end of season.

“Both will strengthen in January and already have very good squads. Obviously, they will be formidable opponents, as all teams in this league are and their position in the table probably amplifies the importance of it.

“It will be a game that both teams want to win, but both teams don’t want to lose, so I can imagine a bit of an edgy affair.”

Rotherham have won just one of their last eight league fixtures but Warne feels that while pressure to get results can be a positive thing, too much pressure can have a negative impact.

He added: “If you make out this is a do-or-die game it could go completely the other way.

“For example, when we play Sheffield Wednesday at home I know how much it means to the fans, but if I harp on to the players about it, they may well under-perform, so you have to get the right balance. That isn’t the easiest thing to get right. As staff, we go through the same process and tell them it’s just another game.

“They aren’t idiots and they know the importance, but if they play to the levels they did in the previous two fixtures, it will give us a right good chance on Saturday.”