Lee Peltier ... 'Feisty little sh*t' and one of the best Rotherham United players of recent times

The colour was significant.

The players' jerseys were red, the staff wore black.

Peltier was staff now. Well, kind of.

Manager Paul Warne had departed for Derby County with his backroom team and the veteran defender had been placed in temporary charge along with another member of the Millers' Dad's Army, Richard Wood.

Peltier, with a big grin on his face, hammed up the moment for all it was worth, parading around the room in mock self-consciousness to appreciative roars from his teammates.

In truth, the colour he was wearing didn't matter. He was always a leader during his time with the club, whether as a player or temporary boss.

Two years and 64 appearances passed between the right-back's arrival in the summer of 2022 and his departure this week.

At least 60 of those outings were good ones. The limbs might have been starting to creak slightly, but the Scouser knew the game inside out, knew himself inside out. He could play.

At the age of 37, he's heading off on a family holiday during which he will ponder whether to retire or crank himself up for one last challenge somewhere else.

‘Pelts’ was a great lad, a ‘proper’ pro, the main man in the dressing room in his final year following the departure of Wood. He laughed when it was time to laugh, worked when it was time to work.

And he was a feisty little sh*t. Warne's words, not mine. Warne, who'd played with him at Yeovil Town more years ago than either of them cares to remember, loved him for it.

Peltier stood up for himself, stood up for those who wore the same-coloured shirt. If something wasn't right, he didn't let it go.

Off the pitch, his voice was among the dissenting ones that led to the food at Roundwood becoming healthier

On it, if any opponent took liberties with him, they did it only once. He was a master of physical retribution and/or a menacing word out of the eyeline and earshot of officials.

Sometimes it would happen in sight of the referee, when the fierceness of his tackling as he left his calling card was up there in the Woody class.

Warne said about the decision to sign his old friend: “As a rule, I don’t really go for over-30s as they help you for a bit but not forever. However, there are times when it’s worth making an exception.

“He was a free agent and had loads of better offers, financially, from League One, but he just liked the idea of the challenge with us in the Championship.

“No doubt I will have loads of arguments with him but I will take that because he’s perfect for us. He is still a winner who will give you everything.”

Peltier wasn't tall but there was a strength and balance about his chunky frame, together with a spring in his heels, that meant he could slip easily into a centre-back role when required.

Significantly, every one of his Millers bosses - Warne, Matt Taylor, Leam Richardson and Steve Evans - picked him when he was available.

The back-to-back 5-0 embarrassments at Coventry City and Norwich City that were part of the reason Richardson lost his job happened when he was in the treatment room.

Thirty-eight matches in his first year became 26 in his second. Maybe the body was inevitably tiring, but the level of his performances never dropped.

The man who started out in 2006 playing Champions League football for Liverpool leaves AESSEAL New York Stadium as one of the most accomplished Millers of recent times.

His final Rotherham outing came at home against Cardiff City, a team for whom he'd played in the Premier League. It left him just seven matches short of the 600 mark.

Before the last-day Championship contest kicked off, he'd had a little kickabout with his young son. During it, he was given a touching ovation by visiting supporters when he went up for a corner.

As he left the field in the 70th minute, with his side 5-2 in front and heading for victory by the same score, all four sides of the ground rose in respect of a man who has graced the second tier for so many seasons.

He'd also given someone a mean, deserved dig when the ref wasn't looking.

If that turns out to have been his last-ever game, it was a perfect way to go.