Paul Warne makes revelation regarding Rotherham United stars Ogbene, Wiles and Barlaser

Unlike several previous windows of yore, the Millers were not scrambling around for late business. It was a deadline day marked by its quietness and inactivity and Paul Warne will not have minded one iota.

The major development saw the doors slam shut with Chiedozie Ogbene, Ben Wiles and Dan Barlaser still at the club, despite much speculation throughout the close season.

During the summer, Burnley saw a number of bids rebuffed for Wiles, while several offers from Blackpool to sign Barlaser were also turned down.

Warne was also particularly fearful of significant late offers for Ogbene, who has started the season in outstanding fashion.

Less than 48 hours on from the deadline, the trio did their bit to help the Millers continue their encouraging start to the season with an excellent point against one of the promotion favourites in Watford.

All well and good, then. Although Warne is savvy enough to accept that the aforesaid trio would not be human if they were not totally unaffected by the rumours linking them with other clubs.

He told The Yorkshire Post: "I don't expect my ‘starlets’ to be unaffected by it, they will be. That's the truth.

"My Rotherham United hat is that these lads want to be here forever and they all have Rotherham United tattoos. That isn't the case. They are brilliant kids, but no different to anybody else.

"I am not saying they will be disappointed it hasn't happened. But I think there is an element of excitement and they are human.

"I don't expect them to down tools because on the final day, we didn't turn anything down. It is not our fault.

"But I expect them to be a little bit disappointed and that is the truth. But I'd like to think, knowing them really well and the fact they are good kids means it won't affect them for long."

In the clandestine world of football, plenty happens behind the scenes when players are targeted by other clubs, as Warne is experienced enough to know as well.

It adds to the difficulty of keeping players happy, especially at a club, with respect, like Rotherham, who are competing against Championship rivals whose resources usually comfortably outstrip their own and are not blessed with natural advantages at this level.

Warne continued: "The clubs who want to sign my players actually speak to my players before a bid is accepted.

"They are well aware of it and know every club that wants to sign them and every school in the local area and know every house they can buy. They go on Rightmove.

"They know every penny they can earn and what squad number that they can have. They know everything before a bid has been put in.

"Because they are young men. It is all right me sitting here at 49 saying to them: 'Look, you will get other opportunities'. But it is difficult for them."

That fact that Warne has always placed great stock on signing good characters and not just good players, quite often in that order, helps.

His dressing room contains players who are not the sort to down tools if that big-money move does not come their way.

Ogbene, Wiles and Barlaser have all spoken in glowing terms about the impact of Warne and his staff in their careers to date and feel a genuine debt of gratitude, which is refreshing to hear.

Ogbene hailed the human qualities of Warne in an interview earlier this year. The Millers chief sees his players as an extension of family, with his care being such that he invited the Irish international over for Christmas dinner last year due to his concern that he might spend Christmas Day away from friends and family.

Wiles is very close to Warne's first-team coach Matt Hamshaw in particular. Hamshaw had been a mentor in the career of the Rawmarsh lad.

The whole group at Rotherham is a tight, close-knit one. The fact there are no 'bad eggs' either is also significant.

Warne continued: "I try to only sign good people. In fairness, whoever the player is who has been 'tapped up' and knows everything, we have good senior people in the dressing room as well.

"I could have signed a player from another club who sounds amazing and all the fans think 'oh he's great.' But he could be the one who comes in and goes: 'Oh, that is disgusting, you need to do that and do this in training and down tools and refuse to play.' Which has happened at other clubs, by the way.

"It's about all people in the dressing room that keeps all of them happy. With recruitment, you can get a last-minute signing here and there. But if you get just one wrong, it can collapse.”