Rotherham boss Paul Warne believes his team were ‘frightening’ in their 3-0 win over MK Dons

The Millers went ahead through captain Michael Ihiekwe after 27 minutes before Dan Barlaser and Freddie Ladapo moved the game out of reach from the home side midway through the second half.

For Warne, it was Rotherham’s work off the ball that was as important as the goals.

He said: “I’m really pleased, that was a good away performance against a really good team.

“I thought we had flashes of absolute excellence and our out-of-possession stuff was absolutely frightening today.

“I didn’t think we were faultless and there are still things that we need to work on, but that was pretty damn close to a faultless display.

“We demand a lot from the group and they deliver. The level of performance is so high at the moment and we demand so much.”

The win sees Rotherham sit in fifth place in the Sky Bet League One table, while the hosts missed the chance to overtake their opponents.

Warne added: “The way I manage this team and how I want my team to play is to be athletic and they’ve got to want to get crosses in the box and (be) a goal threat, and I thought we had all of that today.

“From a manager’s point of view, it can’t get much better. I thoroughly enjoy watching my team and spending time with them, so I can allow myself to smile for 10 minutes.”

The Dons now sit five points behind their opponents and one position outside the play-off places.

It was a frustrating afternoon for home boss Liam Manning, with the 36-year-old believing refereeing decisions did not go his side’s way.

He said: “I thought the first goal was extremely frustrating, with three of their players being offside. When you watch it back, our guys have done their jobs.

“We knew Rotherham were going to be extremely difficult on set-pieces, so when the guys do their jobs properly and they get punished that way, then that’s extremely frustrating as it obviously has a big impact on the game.

“I thought there were moments that didn’t go our way today in terms of decisions going against us and us not taking our own chances.

“I won’t take anything away from the guys for the bravery they showed for continuing to play the way we want to.

“I don’t want to deflect away from us but I thought the officials were poor today and they racked up numerous fouls without consequence. We’re relying on the officials to do their jobs properly.”