Paul Warne talks to www.themillers.co.uk...
Paul Warne says he and his Millers side will travel to New Meadow to face table-topping Shrewsbury with plenty of confidence and relishing the opportunity to lock horns with the division’s leading club.
The Shrews have arguably been the third tier’s surprise package this season under former Miller Paul Hurst but are good value for their place at the head of the pack, which comes as a result of a ruthless consistency.
However, Millers boss Warne has reason to believe his team can upset the applecart against his old teammate, as he looks to extend the 12-game unbeaten run that they are currently enjoying.
“Our lads will go into that game full of confidence because if you want to be at the top, you have to beat the top,”
“The lads will go there with that mindset and we'll set up to try and win the game.
“They're [Shrewsbury] having a great season and with less than a quarter of it left they're holding the title in their hands.
“Everyone involved in football would much rather play in the games at the top than the banana skins at the bottom. The lads are really looking forward to it and I think its a good way to show how far that we have come.”
Much like Warne’s Millers side, the Shrews have developed a reputation for their intense performances, which have helped them to grind out a number of narrow victories but the Rotherham chief believes his players will thrive on the challenge of trying to unlock their mean defence this weekend.
“They haven't conceded many goals at all and they've had loads of 1-0 wins and that's worth the same as a 5-0 win,” Warne continued.
“It's like a rollercoaster until the end of the season but they're top of the league on merit, quite obviously, they've collected the most points and each week you look at their game and normally you think they're going to win.
“We've been watching them today showing the lads how hard working they are because they're really hard working and fit and we had a really good game with them here, which I still believe we deserved to get something out of.
“I think a lot of our games in recent weeks have been against teams who are above us and I think the lads enjoy the challenge of that.
“Hopefully we can go there and put a good show on and if we can play anything like we have been playing, it should be a competitive game.”