Rotherham United: Paul Warne hoping red-hot former striker temporarily loses his touch for Bristol Rovers
Rotherham boss Paul Warne is pleased former striker Jonson Clarke-Harris has found a home at Bristol Rovers, but hopes he has an off-weekend.
The 25-year-old, who was the Millers' record buy in 2014, is lighting up League One at the Memorial Stadium, having scored seven goals in 11 appearances this season under boss Graham Coughlan.
It continues a hot streak that started at the back end of last season and has seen him linked with a host of Championship clubs.
It was in the second tier where he joined the Millers five years ago, but, despite a £350,000 price tag, he never hit it off in South Yorkshire.
Warne was the one to eventually pull the plug, releasing him at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, but is pleased he is enjoying his football.
“He went to Coventry and it didn't work out as well as he probably wanted but sometimes you just find your spiritual home,” Warne said ahead of Saturday's League One visit to Rovers.
“If that is under Graham's tutelage at Bristol Rovers and he feels loved and is getting his shirt every week, and he knows he can do nothing wrong, that is a great feeling.
“Sometimes it takes your fifth club to do that, some people are lucky and find it straight away.
“I am really pleased for him, I still text him now and again if he scores a screamer, I just home he doesn't over-perform this weekend.”
Clarke-Harris has already scored more goals for Rovers in nine months than he did in four seasons at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Warne reckons it was a variety of issues that conspired against the striker in South Yorkshire.
“It's a difficult question to answer, he saw off four or five managers and none of them really played him a great deal,” he said.
“You forget when he first came in he was a really young man, I keep trying to explain, we are talking about 20-year-old men.
“When Jonno first came in here he had a big price tag on his head and a bit of pressure probably.
“And there were good players at the club as well. People forget that it wasn't just Jonno doing it, the people around him were probably just a little bit better, had a little bit more experience and were a bit more reliable.”