MILLERS GET EARLY START
Promoted Rotherham boss now has extra time to plan for next season
THE open-top bus is staying in the garage and the grand civic reception is off the agenda.
These socially-distanced times will also ensure that Paul Warne will not receive warm embraces, handshakes or pats on the back from scores of ecstatic Rotherham United supporters after he secured his second promotion as Millers manager.
As someone who is a tactile person at the best of times, that won’t be easy.
The fact that the Millers, for once, will start the next Championship season without a metaphorical hand tied behind their backs and will have an advantage on some rival clubs, will be more to Warne’s liking.
Amid the elation of the club’s previous second-tier promotion on May 27, 2018 – when the Millers triumphed at Wembley against Shrewsbury – the professional side of Warne was conscious that the new season would start in just 69 days.
Should the 2020-21 campaign start, as many suggest, in midSeptember, Rotherham will have 97 days between the end of one season and the start of the next.
It will represent the best part of an extra month in terms of preparation and a big head start on second-tier clubs who conclude their 2019-20 regular fixtures on July 22.
For a coaching staff who pride themselves on their meticulous planning and a squad of players whose organisation and fitness levels are their core strengths, that added time to gain an extra edge while others sweat it out in high summer before mentally preparing for the next season, will be precious.
It may never be wise to make predictions, but here is one anyway.
An early-season date next season against a supremely fit and fully prepared Rotherham side will be a hazardous one for any big-city clubs who will not be afforded the benefits of a raucous 25,000-plus home crowd.
Or a team potentially in a state of flux after relegation from the Premier League. Rotherham could well be a team to avoid; a team who can catch others cold at the start of 2020-21.
As far as Warne is concerned, the preparations will start next week when he and his backroom team intently scrutinise their Championship rivals when the ‘old’ season resumes.
Warne, whose players will return to training at the end of June and effectively have an eight to ten-week pre-season, said: “Last time we got promoted, we had four weeks (off ) and it was a big turnaround.
“This time, potentially we could have the rest of June, July, August and the first week of September (to prepare). We could have 14 weeks before we start again.
“I can virtually spend a week with my staff talking about how we are going to do pre-season. Whereas when we got promoted last time, we had a week away releasing players and a week with our families and then we were back in again.
“It was a lot more hectic and this is a lot nicer way to prepare for next season.
“It does not mean we will be any better, but we will be a lot more relaxed that is for sure.”
Relaxed is not the word to describe Warne’s emotions in the past when he has broached the subject of the wage demands of a plethora of Championship players who he has targeted in previous seasons.
Some of the figures quoted have been astronomical and provoked reactions of incredulity from the Millers chief.
But times may be a-changing, with the Covid-19 pandemic likely to mean that many players will have to be far more realistic in what they chase, with football’s financial landscape having been significantly altered in the past few months.
In theory, it will enable clubs like Rotherham to compete for ‘Championship-ready’ players, but Warne is circumspect.
He continued: “We have got a lot longer to prepare, but there are pros and cons. You don’t know the financial state of football and you could wait longer for signings as you might get more bargains.
“This sounds awful, but will there be more desperate dealing early on because people need to get players off the wage bill?
“Then because the transfer window is elongated, probably until October, there may be a lot of dealings.
“The sad thing is it will give other clubs more opportunity to come and cherry-pick my best players. But we are not Manchester City or Liverpool. Most clubs have that problem.”
For the Millers, that will always be an occupational hazard in the Championship.
The fact that all of Warne’s main players are under contract, – with his squad being a settled one – should provide stability, and continuity.
If the Millers do contemplate selling, they will do so from a position of strength, unlike many other clubs.
Warne is one manager who will have a pretty good idea – give or take a few positions – what his starting line-up will be on the first day of next season.
Most of his Championship rivals will not be afforded that luxury.