Rotherham United

Rotherham United boss Paul Warne assessed his side's spirited display at Premier League-hopefuls Brentford this evening, which ended in defeat.

It was a similar story for Warne's men, losing by just the one goal to nil, but showing tremendous energy and endeavour against the Bees.

"Against a very, very good team - probably the favourites to go up via the play-offs - I thought we started the game really well," said Warne. "We have to take our chances and it sort of hasn't dropped for us. We're snatching at shots, I thought we needed a goal early on when we were fresher.

"We lost the ball in the middle of the park and they cut inside, cross, goal. That sums up the difference in the two teams. They had a lot more cutting edge than us in the final third. I can't knock the lads' efforts between box and box, but they were just better in that box. That's sort of my overall feeling.

"The lads are exhausted. A lot are carrying injuries, but they're all running and chasing, they're all desperate for success and you can hear the subs cheering the lads on. Even the last 10 minutes, you think there might be a corner or a set-piece we might get a goal off but it wasn't to be. I can't knock them for their efforts, and I know people are probably bored of me saying that. If this was the third away game of the season and we'd lost that 1-0, I'd be really proud of them. But the sad reality is, we need points.

"We didn't come here to sit behind the ball because that never works. I felt we gave a good account of ourselves, but it's a time of the season where we need points, not accounts."

The hosts took the lead with their first attempt at goal, Bryan Mbeumo stooping to head home a 26th-minute cross, after the Millers dominated the opening quarter.

"They then got an ascendency. In fairness, if you're on the team that's just scored, it might be their team that drops or you just go up another gear. It was a bit of both. The lads have had a long season, a real torrid time.

"I'm exhausted tonight and I was just doing a team talk, so I know how they feel. But they don't give up. They keep going to the very end and for that, I'll always admire them and respect them.

"Some of the set-pieces weren't good, but if we don't get first or second contacts, we're not going to score. You can always pick holes.

"When we have good opportunities, we sometimes let teams off the hook, which isn't intentional, obviously. We don't try and miss, but that has let us down.

"In fairness, (Ivan) Toney cost £5million and he'll probably cost £25million at the end of this season. We're aware of what we're up against. We didn't come here in awe of the place, for large periods of the game we went toe-to-toe with them as well as we could.

"At times in this league, when teams turn it up a gear you can see why they're in the top six."