Warne wary despite Walsall's barren away run

UNWANTED records aren’t something that play on professional footballers’ minds, and Rotherham United boss Paul Warne is speaking from experience.

The Millers have dispensed of two such records over the last week. First, a 17-month wait for an away win was put to bed at Portsmouth thanks to a 1-0 victory, before making it two wins on the bounce for the first time in the same period of time six days later, overcoming Bury 3-2 at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Walsall are in town tomorrow night with an unwanted record of their own. They haven’t claimed all three points on the road this calendar year, going back 15 games, but boss Warne doesn’t think that will have any bearing on the game itself.

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He told the Advertiser: “From a player’s point of view it makes absolutely no difference because it won’t be the same 11 lads who played in the last 15 away games.

“I think that possibly a little bit of a disadvantage for us is that when teams come to our place on our pitch they think ‘I fancy this, it’s decent.’

“If they’re going to get their away record going, coming to our place is a nice place for them to play their football, and they’re a footballing side.

“So I don’t think the record will weigh on their mind, I think they’ll just come, as we did when we went away even though we had the worst record in football history, we always tried to win, so I think they’ll set-up the same.”

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The Millers still have a few hoodoos of their own to vanquish, and they will be trying to do it without right back Shaun Cummings, who was forced off with a hamstring injury during the Bury win.

He misses the Walsall tie but fellow full back Josh Emmanuel is pushing for a recall after overcoming a toe injury and will be looking to help the Millers try to win consecutive home league games for the first time in nine months, and three on the spin for the first time since March 2016.

 

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