Rotherham United v Barnsley FC: Battle-scarred rivals Steve Evans and Darrell Clarke ready for derby combat - but respect will endure

They find themselves backed into a corner ahead of this particular derby. True to their respective upbringings, the battling instincts of both have kicked in this week and certainly will for an hour-and-a-half or so this afternoon.

Regardless of who wins this contest between Rotherham United and Barnsley - if there is a winner - the respect between both will endure.

Two working-class managers who have been around the block and bear the scars to prove it. It’s a level of respect which cannot be manufactured.

Evans said: "Darrell went through one of the saddest things that ever happened in football with the loss of his daughter.

"I think he’d be the first to say that I was one of the guys who was around him at that time. He needed people to be around him and show strength of character.

"He’s like us (at Rotherham), where when he goes to work now, he’s in a period of form where he needs to be better. We know it needs to be better here and he’s the same.

"We’ll do battle and whatever happens, we’ll have a hug at the end.”

Back in the summer, most would have expected this particular late-winter derby to have possessed a fair degree of importance at the top end of League One.

In the here and now, it has little following underwhelming seasons for these neighbours on either side of the Dearne Valley.

To the surprise of many, the Millers have languished in the bottom half of the table in 2024-25. They have taken one point from their last four games, while Barnsley’s recent numbers are even worse; no wins in six and a solitary point along the way.

The heat is on both managers, but Clarke has felt it a bit more this week on the back of a derby loss to Huddersfield Town last weekend.

Since arriving at Oakwell last summer, he has regularly spoken about needing two or three windows to build a side in his own image and also consistently referenced the lack of promotion winners in his squad. A nice group who aren’t yet nasty and ruthless enough.

To afford himself the requisite time to do that, you also need the hard currency of enough results along the way.

Clarke continued: "If you look at my previous record as a manager who has had a lot of success, it hasn’t happened overnight and doesn’t.

"Has it been frustrating his season that we have not it going as consistently as I’d have liked? Yes. There are variables in that and everyone will have an opinion and I understand and appreciate that.

"The buck will always stop with me, I get that.

"But we also, as a football club, understand why that has happened and how we can improve it.

"I took (Bristol) Rovers out of the league (into the Conference) and we were locked in the changing room for two or three hours. I reacted with back-to-back promotions and a tenth and a 13th League One finish.

"I went to (Port) Vale who had not won in 18 and didn’t win in the first seven games and changed the whole squad around in the summer and got promoted there.

"I believe in the work I do and the culture and environment I can build at football clubs. But I have got to show it here.

"The shirt weighs heavy for (League One) clubs who have been in the Championship. The expectation levels are sky high and Rotherham have had a good taste of it as well."

Like Clarke, Evans is fighting for time and is also candid enough to accept that he has come up short so far in 2024-25, alongside his players.

Both are unfortunate in the respect that their clubs are pitted into arguably the most competitive, if not necessarily the best, League One ever.

While the money spent by Birmingham City and Wrexham - and to a lesser extent Huddersfield Town - has been pretty serious, the investment at a number of so-called smaller clubs such as Burton Albion and Cambridge United has also been pronounced alongside the likes of Bristol Rovers.

One thing that Evans cannot grumble about - and won’t - is his budget, reportedly the Millers’ highest ever in their time in the third tier.

Evans added: "I have not complained about the finance this year as the budget is completely correct and we are in a good position.

"But it’s also about how tough it is compared to the others in the league this year.

"There were no Birminghams and Wrexhams (before) and there has been no Wycombes with the new ownership model or Charltons.

“We cannot complain with the levels of finance and money that has been spent. But supporters don’t see that, they see results and performances that are not good enough.

"I’ve have always maintained ‘leave the players alone, that lies with me.’ So far I am coming up shorter than anyone else at this club.

"League One has been a really tough league. But the one thing we can never do - and I can’t - is look at anyone if my position was gone and say I never got the support from above.”