Rotherham United: Beaten Holloway acknowledges Millers fans

Opposing boss Ian Holloway admitted his side faltered in the face of a passionate home crowd as Rotherham United ended their run of 15 Championship matches without a win.
Ian HollowayIan Holloway
Ian Holloway

The Millers saw off QPR on Saturday when the volume level was turned up to full for caretaker boss Paul Warne’s first match in charge at New York Stadium.

“An up-for-it crowd has managed to beat us 1-0,” said Holloway, a hate figure among Rotherham supporters from his days as a Sky Sports TV pundit when he nearly always predicted a Millers loss.

Paul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean AtkinsPaul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean Atkins
Paul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean Atkins
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“A goal has changed the course of the game. It gave them a lift and they held on to it far more easier than I would have liked. I saw too many shoulders drop.

“I commend Rotherham. They put their bodies on the line and they will feel like they had a great day. I thought their defending at the end was like men possessed.”

Warne, in temporary charge after the shock resignation of Kenny Jackett, agreed that the supporters had been a factor in his bottom-placed side’s success as a 24th-minute goal from Izzy Brown separated the two teams.

“We have got a lot of things to be proud of at this club and we have been down on ourselves recently,” he said. “I don’t think that should be the case.

Paul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean AtkinsPaul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean Atkins
Paul Warne celebrates victory. Picture: Dean Atkins
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“We are a good club with good people and they are giving it their all. When it is like that, the fans reciprocate.

“The noise and fans were excellent. You’re playing on the same piece of grass, but the home support makes a big difference and it keeps the lads running even when they haven’t got anything left.”

Rotherham’s wholehearted display drew parallels with the Millers’ Championship side in which Warne played more than a decade ago and the one which marched from League Two to the second tier in 2013 and 2014.

“It just felt like Rotherham of old,” the fitness coach said. “The team we had here a couple of years ago and the team I was in, we just had that spirit. The fans will buy into that.

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“I don’t think any fan turns up here in the Championship and expects us to win, but they do expect a level of effort - and I expect it more than that.

“It just felt like everybody in the ground was so desperate for us to win that it just added up to a great day at the office.”

The Millers, who cut the gap between them and safety from 13 to 10 points by beating Holloway’s men, are at Fulham tomorrow night.