Wembley ticket would bring Millers even closer together

That's the view of Paul Warne as his players look to take the final step to a winner-takes-all showdown against Shrewsbury Town at Wembley.

The Millers boss admits he has never felt as tense, nervous and excited about a game as this evening's showdown at a packed AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Win, lose or draw, Rotherham can look back with pride on the improvement that's taken place since they crashed out of the Championship a year ago.

But the chance to make history doesn't come around very often and Warne says securing a place in the the play-off final would be a boost in more ways than one.

"I will not lie, I am nervous because I feel like the lads are so close to something amazing," he said. "You can taste it but at the moment it's just a dream.

"If the players can achieve it and manage to get to a play-off final, I will be hugely proud of them as a group. They might even get their picture on the side of the stadium, which would be nice for them, and it would bond them even more for next year.

"Whether or not we were successful at Wembley, I think as a group they would be even closer. The heart of the team is the friendships within it so the romanticist in me would love that to happen."

Rotherham had beaten Scunthorpe twice in the regular season before last Saturdays' 2-2 first-leg draw at Glanford Park.

The atmosphere and the tension at the New York Stadium will crank up several notches tonight and Warne acknowledges that his "leaders" out on the field will have an important part to play.

"I have leaders out there and some really bad losers as well," he said. "Richie Towell is a bad loser, Will Vaulks and Richard Wood are horrendous losers. I think people who are predominantly winners in life are bad losers.

"The world will be watching, there's a lot on it, but more often than not the cream rises to the top and your best players normally puff their chests out and perform.

"We have some outstanding talent at this club on the pitch and on the bench and I'm hoping the big-time players stand up and we perform to the level we can and hopefully that will be enough to beat a very good team."

Ryan Williams fights for possession at Glanford Park on Saturday.

The match could go to penalties but a final decision on who takes them for the Millers won't be decided until later and will be dependant upon who is on the pitch at the time.

Added Warne: "Scunthopre are similar to use, a hard-working team with good individuals. It will be a very tough game and hopefully one which will be etched in the fans' memories for the right reasons."