Rotherham United: Millers are Germany bound for pre-season says boss Paul Warne

The Millers have ditched the Austrian Alps, where they have been for the last two years, in favour of the rural area of Barsinghausen in the north of Germany.

Boss Paul Warne will take his squad out for a week between July 8 and 15 where they will play two friendlies.

The fabled spirit that the Millers dressing room has had over the last two seasons was built in the foothills of Europe’s most famous mountainous region and Warne is hoping to do the same again.

There could be a fairly sizeable turnover in the squad this summer and the boss wants most of his signings through the door by the time they board the plane.

“It’s essential that we try and get the majority of our transfer work done prior to flying out there,” he said.

“I like to try and take the whole squad. The first year we went to Austria, the only two players we hadn’t signed before we went were Josh [Emmanuel] and Kieffer [Moore], but we signed them and they flew out.

“Last year we weren’t far away from completing our business either so hopefully we’ll have all that done.

“We’re in the process of that now, we’re trying to retain the players we want to and if we’re not fortunate enough to do that then we’ll have to replace and get some fresh blood in.”

Billy Jones will be on the plane hoping it is the start of a rare season of success for him.

The right-back has just suffered his third relegation in three seasons, following back-to-back drops with Sunderland before his move to South Yorkshire.

He only played a bit-part in the season owing to injuries and suspension but he said his side were guilty of not learning from their mistakes.

“The whole group, including the coaching staff, have always looked to improve on every performance,” he said.