Saturday Interview: Warrington eyes repeat show to see Millers on the up

Like a ghost returning to haunt them, Warrington is one of the last men they want to see blocking their path to League One football.

For the veteran stopper has already wrecked one promotion dream for the Daggers and is now looking to complete a unique double.

Seven years ago, Warrington played in the Doncaster Rovers side that secured a return to the Football League by beating Dagenham 3-2 in the Conference play-off final.

Although he remembers little about the game, the day will always rank among one of his greatest as a professional footballer. Victory tomorrow with the Millers may be even sweeter, too, as Warrington was virtually written off by some people in 2005.

The Sheffield-born goalkeeper suffered a broken leg in a Carling Cup game against Manchester City and never played for Doncaster again.

He picked up his career with Bury but returned to his native South Yorkshire 12 months later. Significantly, he has not missed a game for the Millers in 16 months and has kept six clean sheets in the last seven games.

His performances have been just as important to Rotherham's success as those of striker Adam Le Fondre – whose 30 goals sparked talk of a big money transfer.

Time after time, his agility stopped opposition sides getting back into games. His presence instills confidence in other players and his experience in the dressing room has been a valuable asset.

Although Warrington looks considerably older, thanks to the premature greying of his hair, by goalkeeping standards he is still a relatively young 33.

Former Welsh international Tony Roberts is nearly 41 and still playing in goal for the Daggers.

"It was a bit disappointing not to get another opportunity to prove my fitness at Doncaster but I don't have any bad feelings towards the club," Warrington told the Yorkshire Post.

"Personally, I never felt that it was going to be the end of my career and, if you ask any goalkeeper, we all say that we get better with age."

Harbouring no thoughts of a move, Warrington would happily stay with the Millers for the rest of his career.

"As long as I keep on top of my form and fitness, I think there are

still a lot of years left in me," he said.

"I am contracted to this club for another two years – which will coincide with the opening of the club's new stadium. I know there is a lot of football to be played between then and now but it really would be a great honour if I was involved in that occasion.

"I was born and bred in Sheffield so it means a lot to me to play for a local club. When I walk out at Wembley on Sunday, it will bring a few things home to me. It's great to have success but it is even greater to have success with a local club."

Warrington started his goalkeeping career at York City and spent five seasons at Bootham Crescent before moving to Doncaster in 1999.

Under the guidance of Dave Penney, Rovers won back-to-back promotions and Warrington became a hero at Belle Vue.

A collision with Nedhem Onuoha, however, put Warrington out of the game for eight months and, while he was away, Penney signed Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Alan Blayney to provide competition for Jan Budtz.

Warrington was subsequently released and joined Bury but made his way back across the Pennines the following summer.

"We had some tough times during my first season here," he recalls. "The club went into administration and we had 10 points deducted when we were pushing for promotion.

"We deferred our wages for a couple of months and what was going on the behind the scenes was soul-destroying. It was a worrying time for everybody connected with the club but we just stuck together. If Tony Stewart (the local businessman who rescued the club from

administration) had not come in when he did, I think it could have been curtains."

Although docked a further 17 points at the start of last season for breaking League rules when exiting administration, the Millers still finished in a respectable mid-table position and escaped the relegation zone in mid-January.

Warrington showed his confidence in the club's future by commiting to a new deal during administration and was handed another two-year deal by new manager Ronnie Moore this season.

Moore rates Warrington so highly that he considered the possibility of resting the goalkeeper for the final league game of the season away at Hereford United. Play-off qualification had already been guaranteed but Warrington preferred to play to maintain his ever-present record. The Millers will start tomorrow's game as favourites having beaten Dagenham both at home and away this season but Warrington takes nothing for granted.

"Those results count for nothing, this is a one-off game and the winner takes all," he said. "There has been a lot of talk in our dressing room about making the most of this opportunity.

"Some lads have been involved in the play-offs before but, for many, this is maybe the one and only chance. I was a youngster in the York squad when they reached the play-off final in 1993 but this will be the first time I have actually played at Wembley. I am fulfilling my boyhood dream but I also know that Wembley is no place for losers."