Warne ‘We Needed That Second Goal’

Rotherham United Manager Paul Warne told Radio Sheffield thought his Millers team caused problems at the Stadium of Light this evening.

Speaking after the one-all draw, the Millers Boss said, ‘I thought we looked a bit nervy in the first ten minutes but then they built in confidence and played really well.

‘We just needed that second goal and if you go two-nil up it’s game over but it just wasn’t meant to be. The lads are disappointed but I’m really proud of their performance.

‘Sunderland are the inform side and they’ve been scoring goals for fun but the only shot they had on goal tonight was ours. We stopped them playing out from the back, made them go long and won our first balls.

‘I told the lads not to feel sorry for themselves and to be smiling getting back on the bus because they’ve got to pick themselves up and go again at the weekend.’

We looked back to our ‘normal’ selves tonight and it was such a shame that we lost the two points the way we did – until then I thought Michael Ihiekwe was the man of the match. Sunderland don’t lose many games at home – the last one, I believe, being at the beginning of February when Doncaster Rovers were the visitors – and, let’s be honest, before the game we’d have taken a point and been thankful. It’s just the hard work we put in tonight, the way we played as a team, the tackling, the defending, and we were under pressure towards the end of the game, so to go and lose the lead like we did makes it feel more like a loss.

But, hey, we go again on Saturday and we need to put in that same performance, that same effort and go and do what we need to do at Gillingham.

Down to the wire – and really, didn’t we all just know it would be?!