Paul Warne says he is aiming to end the 2016/17 campaign with a win against a side that he insists still have plenty to for in Derby County, as they look to impress new manager Gary Rowett.
The Millers boss is keen to give the home faithful something to cheer, as his side lock horns with the Rams on Sunday but has warned that their visitors will still be fired up, as their players look to establish themselves in their new boss’ plans for the new campaign.
“I think out of all the games we can play, apart from the ones chasing promotion, this is probably the hardest because they've still got something to play for,” Warne told www.themillers.cio.uk.
“They're still trying to impress their manager because they expect wholesale changes like everyone else in the summer, so I think they have a lot to play for.
“Out of the games that we could have had it's not the easiest end to the season, but I do know how they want to play football and we've watched enough of them and played against them a few times over the years.
“The Derby players have sort of stayed the same group for a while now. They go through phases of really good form and then drop off a little. Gary has been linked to virtually every job in the Championship and rightly so because he's done a brilliant job at Birmingham.
“I don't think they'll change the personnel too much, so we'll prepare our lads to put up a fight.”
Warne continued to add that members of his squad have requested to take to the AESSEAL New York Stadium playing surface following the final whistle, to thank their supporters for sticking with them during a tough season.
The Millers boss admits that whilst it has been a difficult campaign for the club, he was pleased to hear that his players recognised the contribution of the home fans.
“They've asked me about that and the lads want to walk out with their kids and clap the fans after the game,” Warne explained.
“It's difficult because of the season we've had but I've always been positive about my dressing room and there's never been an issue in there.
“I think it sums up the lads that they still want to do it.
“Myself included, we'll walk and clap the fans and hopefully they'll appreciate the efforts that we've put in. They won't possibly appreciate the points haul but that's not through lack of effort.
“Hopefully we'll get the recruitment right in the summer and look forward to a better season next year.”
Meanwhile the Rotherham manager is keen to build on the impressive performance which saw his team earn a draw against Preston North End last weekend and has called on a strong finish as the club turn their attentions to preparations for next season.
“It's like a sort of mini-run. I don't think we've played a lot better but we've just got better results,” Warne added.
“I thought we were excellent last week at Preston.
“I think if you're a neutral or if you didn't know, you wouldn't believe the difference.
“I think the way that the lads have performed recently has been really good and I've been really pleased and I'm preparing them to go out there and hopefully win and if the sun is shining on Sunday we can leave in a good state of affairs and prepare for next season and look forward to that."