Hurst leaving emotions at home ahead of Millers return

FORMER Millers favourite Paul Hurst will try to put his emotions to one side when he brings his Shrewsbury Town table-toppers to the AESSEAL New York Stadium this weekend.

Saturday's top-six League One clash pits Hurst against the club for whom he made nearly 500 appearances, not to mention his old Millmoor team-mate, now Rotherham chief Paul Warne.

While he still has a lot of affection for his old club, Hurst told the Advertiser that his priorities are making sure Shrewsbury come away with a good result.

"Even though this was a fixture I was looking out for, I have tried not to give it too much thought," he said.

"It will be great to come back. I've only been to the New York once, to a midweek game against Watford, and it's a fantastic stadium and the fan base has grown.

"It will be a special day but you have to go in and be professional and not let emotions override what I'm trying to do and that's win a game of football."

Warne, meanwhile, is expecting a stiff test and paid tribute to Hurst's achievements since taking over the Shrews a year ago.

"Hursty did brilliantly to keep them in League One and this year it's been unbelievable, they've hit the ground running," he said.

"He has Shrewsbury really well organised and they're hard to break down. They've done really well home and away and it will probably be the hardest game we've had."

Skipper Lee Frecklington is back available for the Millers, as are Joe Mattock from suspension and Marek Rodak from international duty. Jon Taylor (knee) misses out.

There's all this, and much more, in this week's 24-page sports pull-out.