Neil Warnock post Brentford...
Rotherham United manager Neil Warnock hailed his side’s heroic performance which saw him register his first win in the Millers hotseat as they saw off Brentford with a 2-1 victory at AESSEAL New York Stadium.Goals from Matt Derbyshire and Danny Ward, either side of an Alan Judge strike, secured the hosts three points at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Warnock paid tribute to his side’s effort and determination in a battling display in South Yorkshire and believes they were good value for their win against Dean Smith’s Brentford.
“I thought the lads typified what I wanted of them. I said to the lads that they need to enjoy this challenge,” Warnock enthused after the game.
“We deserved to win today. The amount of effort we put in in the first half, it made it difficult for me, too have dominated the way we did and to have come in at half time at 1-1.
“The crowd must have gone home very happy, there was goal-mouth scrambles, crosses, shots, blocks, it is just like old times for me now – and I’m still really enjoying it.”
Rotherham were dealt a blow after a solid first half performance when Lee Frecklington was adjudjed to have fouled Sergi Canos in the area and despite the best efforts of Lee Camp who stopped the initial spot-kick, the Irish midfielder made no mistake with the follow up.
Warnock insisted his side were unfortunate to go in level at the break and admitted he had to urge his side to move on quickly at the interval.
“The lads were a bit flat because of the penalty, and I said to them we have to forget that, because everything has gone against us recently” Warnock continued.
“We have to make our own luck, and I think we did second half."
The Millers reduced the gap between themselves and MK Dons to just three points following their victory over the Bees and Warnock is adamant that the Millers can climb out of the Sky Bet Championship drop zone.
“The game is all about winning, yes, we are still adrift and we do have tough games to come but they are a great bunch of lads,and I am genuinely enjoying it and the fans have made me feel really welcome.
“I want to get this place buzzing again, and it is, the lads are buzzing and so are the fans now – I am sure they’re looking forward to the games.”
“We are at Sheffield Wednesday next week, and I’m really looking forward to that one, and they're playing well this year – but we can go there and give them a game.”
Energetic midfielder Lee Frecklington made his return from injury against Brentford replacing Paul Green in the Millers’ engine room and turned in a performance which left his manager delighted with his contribution.
Despite initially being a doubt for the clash, with his return looking unlikely mid-week, he turned in a Man of the Match performance to further endear himself to the Rotherham United faithful.
“I had a word with Frecklington and told him that I need him, but not to play if he got injured. I asked for an hour and I got 80 minutes from him. In that time he showed me what a good player he is,” Warnock beamed.
“The physio told me Lee Frecklington would be fit 10 days from now and I got an hour out of Leon Best and Jerome Thomas, which is what I asked of them."