Millers cannot afford to count on Dons slipping up in automatic promotion hunt

Warne predicts his side will need to win two of their remaining three matches to get automatic promotion
Paul Warne says his side cannot afford to drop more points this season despite Dons’ recent blipPaul Warne says his side cannot afford to drop more points this season despite Dons’ recent blip
Paul Warne says his side cannot afford to drop more points this season despite Dons’ recent blip

After losing for a fourth time in six matches on Tuesday night, Rotherham manager Paul Warne admitted his side cannot afford to rely on MK Dons dropping points to secure automatic promotion.

The Millers and Dons are locked on 83 points apiece heading into the final week of the season, sitting second and third in League One. While Rotherham have a game in hand over Liam Manning’s side, back-to-back defeats for Dons have played significantly into Rotherham’s hands this week.

On Saturday, Dons host 19th placed Morecambe at Stadium MK, while Rotherham host Oxford United, who will head to the New York Stadium buoyed by their late winner over Manning’s side in the week.

With Rotherham playing their game in hand this week away at Sunderland before their final game away at Gillingham, Warne admitted his side cannot afford to keep dropping points and expecting Dons to do the same to keep them in the automatic hunt.

Warne said: “With three games left, we are still in a really good position. But we have to win at least two of them, I presume.

“If we come up short, I appreciate it is on my shoulders and we go into the play-offs and we will build our lads up for that, but that is not our intention to win these games and get ourselves up.

“I do feel like it is going to go to the last game of the season and all we can do is try and win our games.

“It is easier said than done because the (other) scores will come up in the corner and I had a feeling when we were playing Burton with the atmosphere of fans staying with the team and clapping the team off that results were being kind elsewhere.

“But we cannot keep relying on that and have to grab the games as best we can against a very good team on Saturday.”