Rotherham United v Norwich City – Why Sheffield United and Leeds United are backing the Millers

Last Saturday, fans of his boyhood club and home-town side Norwich City were desperate for the Norfolk-born Millers chief to do the Canaries a big favour by putting a promotion spanner in the works of Sheffield United in their derby at Bramall Lane.

Seven days on and Warne will now have plenty of support from Blades – and Leeds United followers – in his adopted county ahead of today’s meeting with a Canaries side whom the Millers beat in their last league meeting in Rotherham in January, 2017.

With either Leeds or the Blades – and perhaps both – dropping points in today’s lunchtime summit meeting at Elland Road, attention will quickly switch to events at the AESSEAL New York Stadium, with the hosts likely to have plenty of White Rose backing from afar.

On getting support from elsewhere, Warne quipped: “If we had played on Friday, we could have sold out our end!

“Ironically, it was the same when we played Sheffield United last weekend when I had Norwich fans texting me.

“It would be nice to have the Yorkshire teams up (automatically) but those top three teams are not dropping much, are they?

“So they need a favour off another team to help them out. If that was us, then great.”

Games with Norwich will always carry an emotional attachment for Warne, whose pride was immeasurable when he strode out as Millers manager in the reverse fixture at Carrow Road.

It was the venue where Warne’s father Russell, who could not attend the game due to illness, took him to see his first game.

Family members, including Warne’s brother and nephew, who has been at the club on work experience this week, will be in attendance today along with some Canaries-supporting friends.

But come 3pm, it is case of business before pleasure for Warne, ahead of a catch-up after the game.

Warne said: “It is always a fixture that I look for and my family and friends in Norfolk want to see it.

“They obviously want to win as well but not as badly as I do.

“If people said to me, could I have a point, I would say yes as a point at the bottom of the table is gold dust. However, we will try and go for three and if we can come out of with a positive result, it would be great as getting out of the bottom three would be psychologically massive.”.