Rotherham United contract issues expected to drag on into the summer

Warne had been keen to tie Matt Olosunde, Clark Robertson, Michael Smith and Matt Crooks down to new deals and had opened preliminary talks.

But given the Millers' fight against relegation from the Championship, Warne does not expect any of the quartet to jump in feet first to committing themselves to the club.

“I think honestly because of the position we are in, no player is overly keen to extend their stay here,” Warne admitted.

“If we were mid-table the dealings would be a lot easier to do. The position we are in at the minute, understandably the players are taking a lot longer to get back to the club.

“I haven't got anything exciting to say about those four players and I don't think anything will happen before the end of the season.

“If you are a 25-year-old striker and you have had a really good season and you think you can play in the Championship, would you sign a contract with a club who potentially could go down?

“A lot of it always is money driven but it is also career driven. I can read between the lines and understand the lack of speed to get negotiations going with the players' agents because of the situation we are in.

“Players always back themselves to get contracts. They all want to play in the Championship and at the minute we are one of eight teams who cannot guarantee that.”

They could go some way to winning the fight against survival by beating Reading on Saturday.

But they will be without central defenders Michael Ihiekwe and Richard Wood.

Ihiekwe is serving a two-match ban for accumulating 10 yellow cards while Wood has a groin injury.