Paul Warne post Swansea City...
Millers boss Paul Warne praised his side’s character, whilst welcoming a slice of good fortune, as his side came from behind to beat Swansea City 2-1 at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
It was a case of ‘smash and grab’ from Warne’s side, who flipped the game on its head thanks to two late spot-kicks from Ryan Manning.
“I’m not going to tell a lie,” said Warne. “I wasn’t happy with our performance. In fairness, I think the lads gave everything they had. They were significantly better than us, virtually in every department for the majority of the game. No one in the dressing room is proud of the performance but we’re proud of the result. I’m definitely proud of the character of my team.
“At 1-0, the game’s still alive. I was happy to get them in at half-time at 1-0, to be honest. We rode our luck at the start of the second half and Marek pulled off a couple of great saves. We just stuck in there and the character that we waffle on about at times came good for us.
“For us to get a 2-1 win out of a disappointing performance is impressive and at least we can send the fans home happy – which I’d actually like to mention because they’ve stuck with the players today. They realised how good a side Swansea were and how difficult it was for us to even put a glove on them at times. I’d like to thank them for that.
The Millers struggled to gain a foothold in the match as Graham Potter’s Swansea dominated for large spells with some good, one-touch passing. But the points are all Rotherham’s.
“It’s difficult for us because we have to be at our best to compete against these amazing teams,” continued Warne. “But the lads are really proud. They stick their chest out and go and play and perform every week. It’s probably as good as away team that have played here. Swansea were just unbelievable, they were moving the ball quick, they hardly played a bad pass. They were rapid.
“I think 99 per cent of our fans appreciate the task our lads have ahead of them. They kept with them and I changed the system twice.
“It ended up like a 20-minute game. All the unfortunate luck we’ve had at the start of the season has sort of been wrapped up to give us a bit of fortune today.
“Did we deserve it? Possibly not. But the character of the lads to keep going probably did.
“The lads can be pretty chuffed with themselves even though they haven’t played to their best today against a really good Swansea team. I’d like to harp on about them because they were excellent. They’ll be hugely disappointed not to come away with something. But in football, sometimes, the best team doesn’t always win.”