Paul Warne post-Nottingham Forest...
Millers manager Paul Warne reflected on a precious three points picked up by his side against Nottingham Forest at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Michael Smith and Michael Ihiekwe netted the goals either side of half-time to secure a 2-1 victory against Forest.
“Every win is to be cherished,” said Warne. “The lads literally give everything they’ve got, from the first to the 95th minute. I couldn’t be prouder of the group. They’re amazing human beings.
“I thought the atmosphere today was a bit tense, at times. The points are absolutely essential for all the teams for different reasons. I think the quality of the first half wasn’t good but I thought we were much better in the second half.
“In fairness, I think Forest could have taken the lead. They hit the post and kept putting throws in the box.
The Millers boss was pleased his side bounced back from the disappointing defeat at Derby last week, with Rotherham hit for six.
“It shows how together they are,” continued Warne. “I think other teams will have seen our result and been disappointed.
“Overall, I am really pleased with the lads and they should take great pride from it. Even more so when you consider they got smashed up last week. It shows the character, what they can do and the belief they’ve got for each other is quite beautiful.”
Both of Rotherham’s goals came from well worked set-plays as the two Michaels teed each other up.
“We work on set-pieces quite a lot,” added Warne. “We ask the lads to be aggressive and attack the ball. I thought defending and attacking set-pieces today, we were great.
“I don’t care how we get a goal. I don’t care if Marek kicks it up in the sky, it hits a seagull and goes in.
“I thought Smithy was fully deserving of his goal today. I say this quite a bit but I thought he was unplayable today. He was strong, he looked back to his best after shaking off his illness last week.
“To have most of our players back was great. It was just unfortunate both our full-backs had to come off because of injury. We just have to patch them up now and we’ve got Villa coming Wednesday which is a big game again.”