Paul Warne interview: Ex-Rotherham United manager on reunion with Sheffield Wednesday trio as Derby County manager

The comments are well-meaning, but quite often, the frenetic nature of working life means that the sentiments are not acted upon.

Football life is transitory. Players and managers come and go, it's the nature of the profession. Real, lasting friendships can be quite rare.

Which brings us to Paul Warne and three Sheffield Wednesday players who he knows particularly well in Michael Smith, Michael Ihiekwe and Will Vaulks, who all served him with such distinction in his time at Rotherham United.

They will face Warne's Derby County side in a fascinating League One match-up on Saturday.

On a professional basis, Warne was understandably disappointed when Smith and Ihiekwe moved across the Tinsley Viaduct in the summer, despite the considerable efforts of himself and the Millers.

But for Warne, there were no hard feelings, that's ultimately football. Good friendships always endure.

He has always taken pride in a number of his former players keeping in touch. Several do.

Vaulks, who left the Millers for Cardiff in June 2019, called Warne on the team bus during his old club’s joyous trip home from Gillingham after clinching promotion back to the Championship in May.

The pair have kept in regular contact with Vaulks periodically calling him for advice while at Cardiff.

Warne also thinks the world of Ihiekwe and Smith and the text banter has already been flowing with the latter this week.

Smith has much to thank Warne for. His journeyman career was at a crossroads when he moved to Rotherham from Bury in early 2018.

In his time there, he transformed himself from a player who'd had '68 clubs in three years’ to the 'best kid in school in League One' - in the words of Warne last season.

As for his character, Warne once famously quipped that Smith was the sort of person who he would be happy for his daughter to marry.

That said, he is not so keen on seeing any of the good side of Smith, who struck two late goals in the Owls' FA Cup victory over Mansfield Town last weekend – on Saturday.

Warne, who moved to Derby in late September, said: "It was disappointing when they (Smith and Ihiekwe) left in the summer as I knew what good players they were.

"When the ones who don't contribute to your success leave, there's no drama. When the main ones do, it’s a drama; that's what it felt like.

"That week was tough for the club as they were really good players. It'd be the same if De Bruyne and Foden left Man City in a week, it would be a big deal.

"I texted 'Smudge' this week as I saw he came off the bench and scored two goals. He texted back with a 'laughing face' saying that he remembered that conversation we had in my office when we both agreed that he was one of the worst subs in history!

"That made him laugh and I remember having that conversation. He's come on and scored two, so it shows what I know…

"He's doing well. I have seen a couple of Sheffield Wednesday games and against Bristol Rovers, he scored a header just before half-time.

"Iky is doing well as well and as a team, they are a formidable outfit and have recruited really well. They have got a real depth and that is what I think they have got more than the majority.

"Ipswich and Wednesday have probably got the strongest squads and over a season, it can pay dividends if you can keep them happy."

The jockeying for position in the League One promotion race in 2021-22 was cut-throat as Warne can vouch for with experience – a season which saw one team in Plymouth Argyle miss out on the top six despite mustering 80 points.

The current campaign, if anything, looks even more dog-eat-dog. At the top, Wednesday, Ipswich and Plymouth have hit their straps, while the current play-off scene looks seriously crowded.

Among that number are Warne's Derby, currently one point behind sixth-placed Barnsley.

Offering his take on League One, Warne – promoted three times as a manager from the third-tier and once as a player – commented: "I think the stronger teams are stronger and I think you can see that by the fact of where Oxford and Wycombe are and probably us to be fair. We are not in the top six either.

"If you look at the teams on paper, Ipswich have built that team over the past 18 months as have Sheffield Wednesday. Plymouth have done really well.

"There's a lot of teams who are expected to finish in the top six, that's for sure.

"But even if you go down to Exeter, we played them and they are a good side and Port Vale were. Morecambe were difficult to get points off. The lower teams have got better as well.

"Last year, it was sort of six from eight (to finish in the top six). This year, it feels like it could be six from ten."