Crawley Town v Rotherham United: Steve Evans cites the one quality he wants to see more than any other to transform Millers' fortunes

GIVEN his experiences since returning to his beloved Rotherham United, Steve Evans is understandably panging for a bit of nostalgia.

At a place he knows well in the Broadfield Stadium, he’d dearly like to start seeing evidence of those currently in Millers’ jerseys starting to turn back the clock in that regard.

Evans’s successful Rotherham team of yore were rich in leadership and defiance, you don’t get back-to-back promotions unless you display those qualities in abundance.

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The class of 2024-25, thus far at any rate, have been a pale shadow of the collective fighting unit who went from League Two to the Championship from 2013-15 and were a force to be reckoned with.

Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Tony Johnson)Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Tony Johnson)
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Tony Johnson)

After a lame, insipid first third of the campaign, their biggest test arrives in West Sussex on Saturday afternoon.

Evans has not lost faith with those in red and white, but wants to see one quality more than any other today, a quality that his former players possessed in spades at Rotherham, namely bravery. And not physical bravery either.

The Scot, barracked by supporters after the recent away loss at Barnsley, with his players also getting it in the neck, said: "We need brave players.

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"When I was here the first time around, were (Kari) Arnason, (Craig) Morgan and (Joe) Skarz brave?

"Were (Alex) Revell, (Lee) Frecklington and (Richie) Smallwood brave? They were brave. When you say to people ‘be brave and strong and show tenacity in a fight’, that’s not about sticking an elbow in the face of a player or going through a player at knee-height.

"What that is about is taking the ball in uncomfortable situations."

The Millers head into the game on the back of a 1-0 victory in their final Group H game in the EFL Trophy at Bradford City.

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It was not the main course of the week by any stretch, but Evans at least spied some of the elements of bravery which he referenced.

He continued: "I saw Jack Holmes do it in taking the ball in the centre pitch and dropping the shoulder and coming out on the other side. It looked terrific, Shaun McWilliams did it umpteen times.

"Believe - and if you give the ball away for the right intentions, as long as there’s a desire to work back, then we’ll have you with us every day of the week."

Evans has been assessing the fitness of key trio Jonson Clarke-Harris, Mallik Wilks and Sean Raggett in the second half of the week, with the latter being an unused substitute in Tuesday’s success at Valley Parade.

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