Paul Warne post Walsall...
Millers boss Paul Warne spoke to the press after seeing his side record their third successive victory in the league as they hit Walsall for five at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Minutes after being announced as Man of the Match, captain Lee Frecklington sealed his hat-trick in front of the Kop to make it 5-1 over the Saddlers.
“It was a good night’s work,” said Warne. “We didn’t play as well, footballing-wise, as we have. But, obviously, I’m happy to get five goals at home and to get three wins on the spin is testament to the group that we’ve got.
“I thought although we scored a lot in the first half, we missed a lot as well. We didn’t start too bad in the second half, they got a goal and we had a nervy 10 minutes. I’ve played in those games where you can feel the tension from the crowd, it rubs off on the players and we lost our way a bit.
“We’ve got the final goal and defended pretty well. We have to stay confident all the time. When we take two touches and knock the ball around, we’re a really good team. We just need the lads to believe in themselves and realise how good they can be.
“It’s nice to keep picking up the wins.
“It’s disappointing conceding a goal, especially on a set-piece. I’m not going to let that cloud the day, we’ve scored five goals and got the win. To get three on the spin, I’m cock-a-hoop.
“Saturday took quite a lot out of the lads. We dominated and probably played better on Saturday. I thought we started pretty slow, so to win three on the spin is excellent. Before tonight, Walsall were only a point behind us and you could see in pockets of their play how good they could be. I’m obviously chuffed the lads are playing the way they are.”
The only blemish on a brilliant night was the withdrawal of striker Kieffer Moore who trudged off injured in the second half.
“His groin’s a little bit tight,” said Warne of Moore. “We’ll see how he is in a couple of days. The lads are off tomorrow and are in late on Thursday. He’ll get assessed tomorrow no doubt then we’ll look to patch him up for the weekend. We can’t play him if he isn’t 100 per cent.
“The fans have been brilliant with me, even when we were losing last season. I never came in for massive criticism. I’m trying to bring a brand of football which everyone likes and scores goals.
“I want the lads to keep it up. I want them to play and be confident on the ball.”