Warne: let's make it feel like a home game

ROTHERHAM United chief Paul Warne wants everyone to pull out the stops to make Wembley feel like home this weekend.

Around 15,000 supporters will make the trip down the M1 for tomorrow's League One play-off final and they are expected to outnumber the contingent from Shrewsbury Town.

Warne is adding some little touches to the Wembley dressing to make it feel like a home game, laying a giant club badge across the floor and pinning messages to the walls, but he says that loud vocal backing from the West End of the stadium occupied by the Millers fans will be vital when the players step out of the door.

"We want to make this feel like a home game and the fans have a massive part to play," he told the Advertiser. "I would like to think we could take on most teams in League One and be able to out-sing them and to be fair we have some funny songs knocking around at the moment.

"We need to hear our supporters. It's like when you go to a panto and they ask one side of the room to roar and then the other. When the teams walk out, and even in the warm-up, the more our fans can make our players feel at home and cheer them, the more it puts any nerves to rest.

"Plus, if you have spent all this money going to London and having a great day out, you'll have a much better day out if you shout."

Show us your colours: Millers ace Will Vaulks models Millers' Wembley merchandise at the Red and White Shop alongside supporters services assistants Chloe Spafford and Lisa Lund.

The match pits Warne against his old Millmoor team-mate and now Shrews manager Paul Hurst and  says Warne says it is "surreal" to be facing him in a Wembley final. The two spoke on the phone for half-an-hour on Thursday.

"Both sets of players have already achieved a lot," said the Millers boss. "We can both take credit for the teams we have assembled and the way we have gone about it but there can only be one winner on Sunday.

"The best two teams, Wigan and Blackburn, have gone up. Shrewsbury came top of "our" league and we came second so it is the fairest end to the season."

Rotherham will travel down today and intend arriving at their hotel in time to watch the Championship play-off final and the Champions League final. A couple of players are carrying knocks but are expected to be fit to play. The starting 11 and the formation have already been decided and the squad will be told today.

Jamie Proctor: could lead the Millers out at Wembley.

Warne has also confirmed he has asked long-term injury absentee Jamie Proctor to lead the team out. The striker has endured a long and difficult battle to back to fitness from the cruciate ligament injury which sidelined him in the early weeks of the season.

"The lads would love to see him walk them out. I would be buzzing if he did do it," added Warne.

There's much more on the big game, including exclusive interviews and analysis, in our 16-page Wembley Special in this week's Advertiser.

Match tickets will be available up to 2pm today. Visit www.themillers.co.uk for details.