Boss Paul Warne on his summer recruitment plans for Rotherham United

The Millers finished as runners-up in League One this term and their boss knows he must strengthen his squad to give the club a chance of establishing a foothold in the second tier.

Some of the men who helped Rotherham to promotion may depart, with the likes of striker Michael Smith, attacker Chiedozie Ogbene and midfielder Ben Wiles set to attract the attention of bigger teams.

"Are we going to lose a couple of players? Maybe," Warne said. "Will we have to recruit other ones? Yeah.

"It is a very, very difficult ask but we need to recruit seven, eight, nine players who are better than the ones we have.

"Nearly every year I've been a manager we've had to rebuild the team in the summer. This year is no different."

A number of key performers are coming to the end of their contracts but in most cases the Millers have an option to extend the deals by 12 months.

That means they are under no pressure to sell and can demand substantial fees if other clubs come calling.

"Unless the money is right they won't be sold," Warne said.

Ogbene, goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, midfielder Jamie Lindsay and wing-back Mickel Miller are among the players who fall into this category.

There are no options on Michael Smith top scorer and centre-half Michael Ihiekwe who will become free agents unless they sign new deals.

Rotherham have been relegated in their last three seasons in the Championship but were only six minutes away from surviving in 2021 when a late last-day equaliser from Cardiff City condemned them to the drop.