Victory over Shrewsbury Town a bitter-sweet moment for Paul Warne
Rotherham chief Paul Warne admitted winning promotion to the Championship at former team-mate Paul Hurst’s expense was ‘a little bit bittersweet’.
Warne and Hurst played together as Millers for several years and are good friends.
Warne got the spoils at Wembley thanks to a Richard Wood double.
“I love Hursty, and his team are excellent,” said Warne. “His team are as fit as mine, which killed me.
“I’m disappointed for him, obviously, so it’s sort of a little bit bittersweet for me. I don’t feel too victorious about it, just really pleased.
“When something you work on with your staff comes off, you can definitely go to sleep with a smile on your face.”
Town winger Alex Rodman, who netted a second-half equaliser, admitted there was a feeling of devastation among the squad.
But he admitted Hurst’ side had not played to their full potential.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words if I’m honest.
“We can’t really come to terms with it, it was a very quiet dressing room in there afterwards.
“The boys are gutted, absolutely gutted. We’ve had such a fantastic season, defied the odds all year.
“I really felt like it was going to be our day and obviously it was not meant to be. It’s really tough to take.
“If I’m honest, I don’t think we were as good as we can be.
“Don’t know if I’ll be able to watch it again. It’s devastating, to have come so close. It’s heartbreaking.”
