, ‘As good as a training session’ – Rotherham United boss hopes different preparation delivers win at Bournemouth

‘As good as a training session’ – Rotherham United boss hopes different preparation delivers win at Bournemouth

Rotherham United manager Paul Warne hopes that a weekend off was just what his squad needed ahead of a trip to Bournemouth.

He takes his Millers side to the promotion-chasing Cherries tonight looking to continue their good form since the turn of the year, winning four of their seven Championship matches to escape the relegation zone.

They were beaten last Tuesday at home by Cardiff City, before their fixture against Queens Park Rangers had to be postponed because of a frozen pitch at the New York Stadium.

In this busy season – with Rotherham’s schedule looking more hectic than most with numerous games still in hand – the extra time is precious.

Clubs are struggling to give their players as much training and recovery as they would like, but Warne decided it was the latter that his squad needed the most.

READ: Rotherham United receive player boost ahead of Bournemouth trip

So instead of extra work to compensate for the loss of the QPR match, the Millers players enjoyed a weekend at home to take a break from it all.

“It has been awkward because the pitch has been frozen at the stadium and at the training ground, so we’ve had to train on astro,” Warne said in his pre-match press conference.

“Some of our senior players were unable to train at all for obvious reasons, then I just let them have a weekend with their families, which can be as good as a training session in my eyes.

“We’ve been back on the grass this week and had a hard training session (on Monday).”

Alex Pantling/Getty Images Sport

Rotherham take on a Bournemouth side still under the caretaker management of Jonathan Woodgate, following the sacking of Jason Tindall at the beginning of the month.

The Cherries have gone three matches unbeaten since, claiming four points from two league matches and beating Premier League side Burnley to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 64 years.

Rotherham played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Tindall’s Bournemouth back in November’s reverse fixture, and Warne believes his team can cause them more problems on the south coast.

“Obviously, their objective at the start of the season was to get back to the Premier League straight away and that comes with added pressure,” said the Millers boss.

“If you look at the form table, they had a bit of a slump but have really picked up since Jonathan Woodgate took over.

“I think they’ve done well. I’ve watched their last two games and they are definitely on the ascendancy and they’ve got a phenomenal team.

“Hopefully we can impose ourselves on the game. I don’t get too obsessed with form tables or anything like that, I just think we have to set ourselves up to play the best way we can.

“We know how we press can sometimes lead us vulnerable at the back, but it is a risk and reward strategy that we’ve been working on and hopefully we can cause them as many problems as they cause us.”

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