Rotherham United boss Steve Evans striving to end over 40 years of Millers' hurt against Barnsley - after a tearful League One occasion last time out

The Millers have not won in 12 matches against the Reds since back in the autumn of 1982 and they produced a dire performance in their fixture at Oakwell in November, when they were beaten 2-0 and subjected to a barrage of criticism from the away contingent in the North Stand.

Evans remembers the pain well and admits that he shed a few tears in the early hours of the following morning following a desperately poor night at Batrnsley when his side were abject.

Both sides head into the game on disappointing form in the here and now. The Millers certainly should not require a teamtalk.

Evans said: "It is a chance to get back on track. Everyone loves a local derby and for us in this particular season, it’s Barnsley isn’t it.

"It’s well managed with good resources and a good club and a big travelling support. But we’ll have a great support as well.

"This is a game which means a little bit more because I think it was October 1982 which was the last time Rotherham United beat Barnsley in a competitive fixture.

"That makes it even more special for us if we can get three points.

“Even with my experience, I don’t think there’s that many times I have gone home and set quietly in my lounge when my family has gone to bed and I have shed tears. I did after Barnsley as that was hurtful and hurtful comments to a lot of us. Reviewing the performance, we deserved to be heavily criticised."

Liam Kelly will be assessed as will Cameron Humphreys.

Evans added: “Liam Kelly came back in today, but he was ill on top of having a little calf strain. So, we will have to assess Liam.

"Just in terms of health-wise, the only other one who has been missing for a couple of days earlier in the week was Cameron Humphreys, through a virus again. But we’re hopeful that Cameron will come through.

"We will still be missing the likes of Sean Raggett and Shaun McWilliams will be back in full training on Monday. But he was in a real bad period of form for the first time since he joined us when he got injured.

"We will also be missing Alex MacDonald. But we still have a large majority of the squad back available and we are really hopeful that Cameron comes through and if he does, it gives us a plethora of options in different areas of the pitch.”