Paul Warne hails ‘really special’ moment as Rotherham seal promotion - 7M sport

Paul Warne hails ‘really special’ moment as Rotherham seal promotion



Posted Saturday, April 30, 2022 by PA

Paul Warne hails ‘really special’ moment as Rotherham seal promotion

Rotherham manager Paul Warne revelled in the satisfaction of a 2-0 League One win over Gillingham that saw his side seal promotion, a result that relegated the Kent outfit.

The Millers made their first-half dominance count when Rarmani Edmonds-Green met Michael Ihiekwe’s goal-bound header to poke home from close range after 34 minutes.

A draw would have been enough to extend Gillingham’s nine-year stay in the third tier but their survival hopes were dashed when substitute Georgie Kelly fired past the helpless Aaron Chapman at the death.

“It has been a good day. It wasn’t until the second goal that I felt comfortable but now it feels really special,” said Warne.

“It’s satisfying: you dedicate your life to this for 11 months and you always have sleepless nights. We got ourselves into a really good position and it looked like it was slipping through our hands.

“I’m really proud of the group in the way they came together. I’m so, so satisfied with what we’ve achieved.

“In fairness to Gillingham, they played well. We expected that as they had something to play for.

“I knew how hard it was going to be. They’re hard to break down, they don’t concede many goals and they’re good at home.

“We had to defend resolutely to keep a clean sheet. My commiserations go out to (Gillingham boss) Neil (Harris) and their players because they stood up to the challenge today.”

Meanwhile, Gillingham manager Neil Harris admits his side have failed to meet expectations as their relegation was confirmed.

He said: “Ultimately, I’m the manager of this club so I take responsibility for letting the fans down this season.

“However, the standards, the professionalism, the recruitments haven’t been good enough and we’ve paid the price.

“When I walked in we had the smallest budget in the division and normally that means you’ll end up bottom of the league. I knew the challenge when I walked in.

“We tried to compete with Rotherham today but ultimately, they’ve got better players and a better squad.

“Look at the benches today – we call substitutes ‘gamechangers’ now but I don’t see many on our bench.

“We’ve scored 13 goals at home this season. That’s a disgrace for any football club. I’ve wanted to play a back four since I came in here but I can’t because we just concede goals.”

“I’ve got seven players under contract. Those seven will not be here under me next season. The players haven’t been good enough.

“You can always blame past regimes, the fact we haven’t got this or that, but they have to take responsibility.”

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