Rotherham boss Warne praises ‘outstanding’ Wiles after victory

Rotherham manager Paul Warne said his side got the result their attacking play deserved at the New York Stadium, and praised midfielder Ben Wiles for an “outstanding” display in midfield.

Warne’s Millers were dominant virtually from the first whistle to last, aside from a brief spell that followed Ross Stewart's superbly-taken equaliser.

A red card for Aiden

McGeady left Sunderland drifting even further out of contention and Warne's impressive group secured an emphatic 5-1 win.

Rotherham created chance after chance in the wide areas, their wing-backs impossible for the visitors to contain.

And while thrilled with the output of his two centre forwards, Michael Smith and Freddie Ladapo, who both scored a brace, it was the homegrown product in midfield who drew special praise from his manager.

“I don’t like to separate players out for praise, but I thought Wes Harding was very good and I thought Wiles was the outstanding player today,” Warne said.

“I don’t know how many times he’s been fouled – I’m a bit concerned for him in terms of Tuesday night, because he’s taken that many hits on his ankle. But from the outset, in and out of possession, he is some talent. He’s one of a group who can all be very happy with their day’s work.

“The strikers will always get the headline, we work with Smudge [Smith] a lot on getting on the middle of the six, getting on the end of crosses, he scored with two good finishes today and could have had more.

“In possession we always believe in what we’re doing and I think we’ve got the results to give the balls confidence.

“We want to get the ball wide, get the ball in the box, get midfielder runners in the box, give ourselves as many goalscoring opportunities as we can.

“At the moment, it's how we’re playing and how we’re winning.

“The lads are respectful of the opposition, but not in awe of them, and if we’re at our best we’re very difficult to play against. We got the goals our play deserved.”

Rotherham's win took them above Sunderland into fourth, although the Black Cats have played one game less.