The Paul Warne Column: Ryder Cup, birthday blues, 100 games and being a knobhead

THE Advertiser's new Rotherham United man, Paul Davis, interviewed me for a feature in this week's paper. He always mentions me crying. He knows I'm an emotional guy and I think he likes to play on it.

He reduces me so I'll break and give him all the exclusives. He's a smashing bloke, by the way, and, yes, he did tell me to say that.

Talk of the tears got me thinking about one of sport's great contests, the Ryder Cup, which took place late last month.

I didn't cry at the event this time, which is unusual for me, and that's because I didn't see enough of it. It was my missus's birthday on the last day, which was a disaster. 

She does this to me every year: springs her big day on me when I'm least expecting it. We went to York and all that. All I could do was try to listen to the Ryder Cup. She knows I love it. She is a very understanding woman, but then I am a great guy. 

Did I have a good day in York? It was all right. Surprise, surprise, we shopped. I love York, but I love the Ryder Cup more. 

To be fair to my current wife, if it hadn't been her birthday, she'd have just left me on the sofa all day to watch every shot.

I'd done some panic-buying beforehand. Like I said, Rachel's birthday came out of the blue. I knew I couldn't get away with buying her golf clubs, even though it was the Ryder Cup, so I contacted her mates and said: 'I'm struggling here.' 

I ended up buying her an Apple Watch and some trainers, plus some other bits.

I can't really remember what bits. You know, the usual fluff.

She's like Rachel Green in Friends. She takes everything back. 

Programmed to motivate

IT was great to earn our first away point of the season at Middlesbrough, particularly as it came against the team topping the Championship.

We started the game with a real purpose.

I showed the lads the matchday programme just before they went out to wind them up a bit. 

I said: 'Look, this is what they think of you. In the programme, there is one page on you, hardly anything on any player.' 

It was like they (Boro) were thinking: 'We're not really interested in these. We don't have to do any research on them.' 

It worked. It did fire them up. We started really well. 

If Willo (Ryan Williams) had taken his first-half chance - which was similar to the Leeds United one earlier in the season - it would have put the pressure right on them. 

The lads knew they'd done well because at half-time the home team were being booed off.

100-game 'knobhead'

THE draw at Middlesbrough on Tuesday marked my 100th game as Millers manager. I never thought I'd get that far when I agreed to take over for one game in November 2016.

Maybe I've changed as a boss, but I don't think management has changed me at all as a man. 

I still get let down by human beings now and again, but not by the bunch of players we've assembled at the club.

I spoke to them the other day after training and said: 'Look, half of you standing here now will think I'm a knobhead because you're not in the team, and I understand that, but you will still never be part of a greater group of guys as the one we've got here.'

This column apppeared in last week's Advertiser. Warne's latest column will be in this Friday's paper