Wigan Athletic chief's admiration for Rotherham United counterpart

The top two in League One will go at it at the New York Stadium on Friday night.

Warne, the former Latics forward, has been a regular at the DW lately running the rule over his old club ahead of this weekend's meeting.

And Richardson could not speak highly enough of his adversary, with their relationship going back around a decade

"Warney's a good guy, who I've known for many years, since he was fitness coach at Rotherham," said Richardson.

"I was over that way myself at the time (at Chesterfield), and he was always one of the people you'd pick the phone up to and have a chat with.

"Over the years we've stayed in touch, we pick each other's brains, and I've got a lot of time for him.

"It's fantastic we're competing at the right end of the division as we are, and we're relishing the challenge.

"Fingers crossed they can maybe have a stutter between now and the end of the season, and we'll pick up where we left off in the summer."

Richardson was in the Sky studio at the weekend for Rotherham's 2-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.

After the game, Warne readily admitted his side had been lucky to win - and Richardson says it's this honesty that sets him apart from some other managers.

"They're not all like that, and I think that's one of his best qualities," added the Latics manager.

"He's always honest, open, transparent, and I think as a manager you should always try to be like that.

"If you try and dress things up in ways that they shouldn't be, sooner or later you'll get found out.

"He's tried to create an environment around him that matches that within his squad, and it's obviously working well for Rotherham."

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