Although Mike Pollitt’s departure to boyhood club Bolton Wanderers left a big hole to fill at Roundwood, Paul Warne is delighted with the fact that the club have been able to replace one Millers legend with another more than capable of picking up the mantle.
Andy Warrington left fellow Sky Bet League One side Lincoln City to return to South Yorkshire, and having played for the Millers for a six-year period between 2007 and 2013, he is another man who has a very strong affiliation with Rotherham.
He will now take over the role of Goalkeeping Coach, and Warne is looking forward to having Warrington working around the place and helping develop the current crop of ‘keepers moving forward.
"I'm really pleased that we've been able to bring him in. I've kept in contact with Andy over the years and I really like him, he did brilliantly at Grimsby before Lincoln paid a fee to get him out of there and he's had massive success there too,” Warne told www.themillers.co.uk.
"When I had my testimonial he couldn't do enough for me and he was a proper professional who just wants to win, but he's a Rotherham lad and a Millers fan.
"He didn't know I was offering the job when I called him initially and he asked if I could phone him back another time as he was on the train with his wife, so I gave him another buzz and told him about it, but I told him to think about it before letting me know.”
Despite offering the chance for Warrington to mull over things, Warne revealed that it didn’t take too much to convince his former teammate to join the ranks at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
"This was about three weeks ago so this has been festering for a while, but he called me back in 30 seconds to say 'of course I want to come' and he was really emotional on the phone,” added Warne.
"He has a strong link with Rotherham United and his Mum is buzzing, so it will be fantastic to have him in. As sad as it is to see Polly go, it's 'next man up' as it always is in football which is a sport that's evolving all of the time."