The Rotherham faithful could be forgiven for labelling Ronnie Moore a miracle worker.

He has achieved what no other Millers boss has managed since the club were elected to the Football League in 1893.

Moore, a former player at the South Yorkshire club, has transformed the side from an average Third Division side into a team capable of holding its own in Division One.

And it is his ability to fashion winning teams on a limited budget which has made him such an attractive prospect for cash-strapped Ipswich.

Rotherham won two successive promotions under Moore, following that with a fine eighth place in Division One last season.

He arrived at Rotherham in May 1997 after cutting his cloth during a short stint as manager at Conference club Southport and a brief spell as caretaker boss at Tranmere Rovers.

The club had suffered relegation to Division Three under Danny Bergera, but Moore quickly seized the initiative and Rotherham finished in a creditable ninth position the following year.

He guided Rotherham to promotion in 2000 and repeated that success in 2001, much to the surprise of many others in the Second Division.

Moore, whose son Ian is spearheading Burnley's attack on the Division One title race, signed a four-year contract with the club in June 2001.

He had been linked with jobs at Southampton and Wigan Athletic, but remained loyal to Rotherham.

Moore is Rotherham through-and-through and a poor start to life in their first season in Division One raised a few eyebrows.

In the current climate, some sack-happy directors at other clubs might have shown Moore the door - but the boss is a Millmoor legend, who was never going to be discarded lightly.

October 2001 brought a change in fortunes and a steady improvement saw them claw their way out of the bottom three.

Moore admitted: "We have moved so fast in the last two seasons but there is a huge divide between the Third and First Divisions."

Moore is one of a rare breed of managers who perform wonders while working on shoe-string budgets.

His time on a much bigger stage will no doubt follow in due course but for now Rotherham fans are perfectly happy that Moore has a relatively low profile.

Just for how long the Millers can hold on to their prize asset remains open to debate.