Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday relegated to League One

 Paul Warne & Keiren Westwood
Rotherham Manager Paul Warne & Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood Credit: PA

Both Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday have been relegated to the third tier of English football.

Sheffield Wednesday finished bottom of the Championship after a 3-3 draw with Derby County, who survived relegation, whereas Rotherham were held by Cardiff to a 1-1 draw meaning they also dropped below Derby in the table.

It looked as though both sides had saved themselves by going ahead in both their games, however, Rotherham's dreams were dashed when Cardiff scored in the 88th minute.

It caps a miserable season for the Owls, which began with a 12 point penalty for breaking the EFL's Profit and Sustainability rules (this was later reduced to six points on appeal) and has seen four different men in the Wednesday dugout.

Sheffield Wednesday keeper Kieran Westwood after Wednesday were relegated at Pride Park. Credit: PA

Garry Monk started the season as manager, but he was sacked in November with the club after a disappointing start to the campaign.

Owner Dejphon Chansiri then turned to former Stoke boss Tony Pulis, but he lasted just ten matches having won just the solitary game.

Academy boss Neil Thompson presided over the longest spell in charge but he failed to convince Chansiri he was the man for the long term.

Current manager Darren Moore left Doncaster to take the reigns with the club already in deep relegation trouble.

Darren Moore has been unable to save Sheffield Wednesday from relegation. Credit: PA

He's been missing for the last few matches after contracting pneumonia and blood clots on the lungs following a bout of coronavirus.

For many who've followed Wednesday's fortunes recently the decline has been evident ever since they failed to win promotion to the Premier League in 2016.

Defeat in the Championship playoff final to Hull City at Wembley and then a loss to Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals the following seasons had serious financial repercussions.

Chansiri spent heavily on building a squad capable of challenging for promotion but when that wasn't achieved the club were forced to cut their cloth the meet the League's financial regulations.

Without the chance to visit Hillsborough this season the fans will now be preparing for trips to the likes of Accrington, Burton and Shrewsbury.

The question now is whether Chansiri opts for another change in the dugout or whether he backs Moore with time and money to revitalise a dejected squad.

Rotherham United failed to beat Cardiff on the final day of the season to stay in the Championship. Credit: PA

As for Rotherham, they've confirmed their status as the Football League's ultimate yo-yo club.

In the last five seasons they've now been relegated three times and promoted twice.

Manager Paul Warne has been there throughout and earlier this week owner Tony Stewart stated his intention to retain his services for next season as well.

With one of the lowest playing budgets in the second tier it looked at one stage like Rotherham would pull off the improbable and stay in the division.

However fate hasn't been kind to the Millers. Two separate breakouts of coronavirus either side of Christmas resulted in a backlog of fixtures.

Last week they were forced to play four matches in just eight days. They lost all four.

The players have been running on fumes for weeks and when staring at a steep hill it was almost inevitable they'd fail to reach safety.

This group know all about League One and know how to get out of it and if Warne can keep the majority in the building next season, plus add a couple more, there's no reason the yo-yo won't propel them back up to the Championship at the first time of asking.