WARNE'S VIEW: "I asked them to go out and play like warriors"

Rotherham United's position at the foot of the Championship might still be perilous and the odds for survival might still be stacked against them.

Warne's only demand under his watch is that they compete and make things as hard as possible for the opposition and the Millers delivered on both counts to beat QPR.

ANALYSIS: Warne's warriors dig deep to earn win

“I asked them to go out and play like warriors and make this feel like a fortress again and just be hard and ugly to play against,” said Warne.

"I'm well aware of the run we've been on and how emotionally fragile the players might be and that if they conceded they might be thinking 'here we go again,' but I just felt there was a bit more resilience about them this time.

“It sounds a bit arrogant but I didn't feel like we were going to concede.

“They stood up and were men and if you have the backbone of your team performing then the periphery follow."

Warne praised the back four, including the outstanding Aimen Belaid, for providing a platform for the rest of the team to go and play.

Skipper Lee Frecklington's eye-catching return after more than a month out also won admiration and Warne said goalkeeper Lewis Price deserved his clean sheet, the team's first since their only previous victory back in August. Lee Camp's replacement turned in three top saves.

The win trimmed the gap to safety to ten points and was the perfect pick-me-up ahead of tomorrow's toughie away to Fulham.

Warne added: "If we would have conceded late on I think they would still have been applauded off because the fans appreciate effort and as a stand-in manager, that's all I want to see from my players.”