'Disrespectful' Rotherham United players in Paul Raynor's firing line after FA Cup shame

The League One club were beaten on their own turf by Cheltenham Town from the division below and exited the competition at the first-round stage.

Number two Raynor handled after-match media duties at AESSEAL New York Stadium in place of manager Steve Evans and made no attempt to disguise his anger.

"I didn't see that coming," he said following the 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Robins who fully deserved their victory.

"Everything felt good yesterday. The boys prepared really well. We told them all the potential pitfalls about coming up against lower-grade opposition.

"We told them the game-plan, we told them Cheltenham would be very direct, that they'd put us under pressure, that they were very clever at set-pieces.

"Unfortunately, our players didn't heed the warnings and that's what happens in the FA Cup.

"If you disrespect the opposition, sometimes it comes back to haunt you. That's exactly what happened today."

Home fans booed at half-time – when their team were trailing 2-1 – during the second half and then again at the final whistle.

All three of Cheltenham's goals involved elements of poor Rotherham defending, with goalkeeper Cameron Dawson and centre-half Cameron Humphreys among the culprits.

"We didn't defend properly, didn't do our jobs, huffed and puffed, didn't move the ball quickly enough and got punished," Raynor said.

The visitors led through Joel Colwill before Mallik Wilks bagged a quickfire leveller. Colwill then scored again before Ethan Archer rounded off proceedings.

The defeat was yet another day of FA cup misery for the Millers who haven't beaten a league side in the tournament since they saw off Bradford City in November 2013.

"I read the stats in the press earlier in the week and was a bit shocked to see that," Raynor said.

Rotherham must recover quickly as next up is a big South Yorkshire league derby at Barnsley on Friday night.

Cheltenham boss Michael Flynn said:

"I thought we were outstanding. We knew they were going to hit the diagonals. We fell asleep after we scored, when they got the equaliser quickly.

“That is a fantastic win against a Rotherham team that is expected to be near the top of League One."