Chairman praises interim boss

Handed the reins until May, Warne and his coaching team have helped the Millers to three league wins from eight so far and all but one of the defeats in that sequence have been by the odd goal.

Mr Stewart has daily contact with the stand-in boss and likes what he has seen so far.

"Paul Warne is a pure-bred Rotherham United soul. He has worked with this team and the players are like family to him," he said.

"We have to give bouquets to Warney because he has come in and arguably done better than the managers before him. He's a very friendly character and his communication is superb."

WARNE WITH INTERIM COACH MATT HAMSHAW

Saturday's victory over Norwich City pulled Rotherham to within nine points of the Championship safety line. While it's still a daunting gap leaving not much margin for error in the final 20 matches, starting with this weekend's toughie away to leaders Newcastle, the Millers supremo is happy the team will travel up the A1 on the back of a win.

"At the moment we're up and running because Warney has taken over and we've seen a difference in the players, the team and the play and we've had certain results," he said.

"I'm sure the fans have got a little bit of optimism after Saturday. We need to keep that spirit."