Rotherham United boss Paul Warne explains why key duo were benched in Shrewsbury Town defeat

The speedy duo have been key men in the Millers’ promotion bid but were left on the bench in the 3-0 defeat to the Shrews.

Warne came under fire from fans on social media and explained that he did not start them due to advice from the medical staff.

“Both were threatened with injury if they started the game,” he said. “I listened to the medical staff all the time.

“It wasn’t ideal to have Mickel on the bench because he played 90 in the week and we are trying to build him up to make his hamstring resilient.

“Neither started, however with Shane Ferguson and (Jordi) Osei-Tutu we should still have enough - because every player matters here - to be competitive and better than what we were.

“Ogbene is always an injury worry, we have to manage his minutes. If we'd have won the game and I'd have brought them on with 20 minutes to go it is not an issue but I appreciate when you lose everything is.”

Left-back Joe Mattock was left out of the matchday squad, with boss Warne saying it was a tactical decision.

“No drama, when I picked the bench, I had Wes and Woody, so Wes (Harding) covers a multitude of positions across the back.

“I could have had Joe as well but I wanted another option further up the pitch.”