WATCH '“ Shrewsbury v Rotherham United: Friendship on hold as Paul Warne targets Wembley wonder

Hurst’s Shrews side stand between the Millers and an instant return to the Championship to crown a fairytale renaissance story for the South Yorkshire outfit, who will be backed by over 15,000 fans at the home of football.

A juicy subplot arrives in the fact that the game pits together two former Millers team-mates and close acquaintances – part of the legendary Rotherham side who achieved back-to-back promotions under Ronnie Moore in the early part of this century.

In the regular 2017-18 season, Hurst – the Millers second highest appearance holder – presided over a 2-1 victory at the AESSEAL New York Stadium in November before Warne’s Rotherham side squared the ledger with a 1-0 win at the New Meadow in February.

Something now must give between the pair, who enjoyed a lengthy telephone conversation this week and while their friendship will endure whatever happens tomorrow, both are desperate for their clubs to be the ones smiling at the final whistle.

Warne, whose United side progressed at the expense of another ex-Millers colleague in the semi-finals when Nick Daws’s Scunthorpe United were beaten 4-2 on aggregate, said: “Hursty is not the enemy, so it will be weird going into combat.

“It was the same with Dawsy; I was not over-exuberant when we beat Dawsy here and just walked straight up the tunnel. It did not feel as celebratory for me because I was beating a mate.

“In the same way if I beat Hursty, I will be buzzing internally, but I will not be a show-off in any way as I do not think that is right as I would have broken the heart of my mate. I would choose to do that obviously, but it will be odd.

“I spoke to Hursty for about 35 minutes (on Thursday) and it was nice speaking to him. It is surreal leading the club out at Wembley to then face my old team-mate who I played over 200 times with.

“I found it strange in the two team games that he was part of the opposition as he had always been on my team. It is like splitting with your wife and she gets with another bloke and 10 years down the line it will still seem weird even if you get remarried.

“I wish him all the best. He goes on holiday the next day after the final and I go on Thursday and we will probably touch base later in the week. I hope it is a really good game, people enjoy it and we win.”

Victory for the Millers, seeking to replicate their League One play-off final success over Leyton Orient four years ago, would represent the final act of a magnificent season for the club, who endured an atrocious campaign in 2016-17 which saw three managers at the helm and the club win just five league games.

Given that backdrop, Warne – part of the backroom staff during the club’s promotion in 
2013-14 – says it would represent the proudest moment of his professional career if United make a quick-fire Championship return.

Warne, who played in Diss Town’s victorious FA Vase final win at Wembley in 1993-94 and was an unused substitute in the Millers’ League Two play-off final loss to Dagenham in May 2010, added: “If we had the conversation a year ago saying this time next year you will be leading a team out at Wembley, you can well imagine my answer.

“I am really proud to take the team down to Wembley. My assistant Rich (Richie Barker) has not even been to Wembley in any working capacity in 25 years.

“We (Rotherham) have been three times in 10 years and everyone thinks it is quite the norm, but it’s not. A lot better managers and coaches than me go through their career without this experience, so I am going to enjoy it.

“As a manager, a win is much better than as a player. Defeats are a lot worse, a loss takes about four days to get over and a win takes 24 hours before you think about the next one. I think me, Rich and Polly (Mike Pollitt – goalkeeping coach) would put it down as our greatest achievement.

“As a member of a managerial team, you are obsessed by it. If we did win, it would be the biggest satisfaction of my career.”

Tomorrow represents the second occasion that the Millers and the Shrews have locked horns at Wembley, with the former triumphing 2-1 in their Autowindscreens Shield Trophy success.

That was the first of four successive defeats at the home of football for the Shropshire outfit, who will be desperate to break their Wembley curse.

Wembley previews: Pages 2-3