What Rotherham boss Paul Warne said about Garry Monk's woes at Sheffield Wednesday

Rotherham United manager Paul Warne has backed Garry Monk to pull Sheffield Wednesday out of their current funk, suggesting the 3-0 scoreline in Wednesday evening’s derby flattered his side.
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The Owls were second-best on an evening that saw calamity Owls defending contribute to all three Millers goals. To compound the woe, Tom Lees sent off and Aden Flint injured to signal more unavailability woes at the back.

The result was Wednesday’s third defeat on the spin and sees them locked on minus-four points heading into Saturday’s high-profile match-up with second-bottom Wycombe.

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Speaking to The Star in the moments after the game, Warne said he sympathises with the high-pressure situation Monk finds himself in.

“I really like Garry,” the Rotherham boss said. “I spoke to him at length for about 15 minutes behind the scenes and we had a good chat.

“He’s been at a lot of clubs at this level. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve and sometimes you do.

“I don’t think it was a three-nil win, it was possibly a bit closer than that.

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“But sometimes it’s a bit weird, football. Just one incident can flip a game one way or the other and the players have to take responsibility for that as well as the management team.

Rotherham United boss Paul Warne (left) said he sympathises with the position Garry Monk is in at Sheffield Wednesday.Rotherham United boss Paul Warne (left) said he sympathises with the position Garry Monk is in at Sheffield Wednesday.
Rotherham United boss Paul Warne (left) said he sympathises with the position Garry Monk is in at Sheffield Wednesday.

“I know if I lost three-nil to Sheffield Wednesday then I’d be under the stick. I know how fans are, the world is all about things being someone’s fault.”

Warne admitted that Rotherham were far from their best on the night, describing their performance only as ‘OK’, and said that key moments went for his side early on to spin the game in their favour.

Monk and his coaching staff had set a target to claw back their 12-point deficit within six league matches. After three defeats on the spin, it will now take at least 10.

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“It is difficult when you lose games,” Warne said on the mounting pressure on Monk, “but the good thing is this season that if you lose now you’ve just got to forget about it by the morning. You can’t dwell on it because you’ve got another game come Saturday.

“It’s difficult to lose, I appreciate that, and it’s more difficult to lose in a derby.”

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