Blackburn win proves Millers on right track – Evans

Goals from Kari Arnason and Luciano Becchio ensured the Millers ended a six-match winless streak in fine style in a coming-of-Championship age performance against a side tipped to be in the top-six mix.

And while the club have sampled some glory cup nights against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton during Tony Stewart’s tenure and the high of being promoted at Wembley, Evans feels that Tuesday’s win equals any in terms of making a statement about the go-ahead ‘new’ Millers.

He said: “We do not kid ourselves; we are still adjusting to a fantastic level of football.

“But we have beaten former Premier League champions and it is probably equal to any good result we have ever achieved as a football club.

“I think in the first half, we were really special.

“It was just a shame the game was not over at half-time, as we genuinely felt it should have been three or four up.

“But I do not think there was a player who wore a Rotherham United shirt who did not give us everything all night.”

The only downside to the Roses win was an ankle injury sustained by Kirk Broadfoot, who will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s trip to Norwich.

Broadfoot’s partner at the back at the start of Tuesday’s game, Icelandic international Arnason, continued his seamless early-season form and also notched his first Millers goal in 18 months.

While the 31-year-old is the first to admit he is a bit of a perfectionist, he says he has been fairly pleased by his return to Championship life after a previous spell at Plymouth, with the second tier suiting his game.

He said: “It basically suits me better to play in this league as there is not as much carnage as in League One and League Two and it not just fighting for the ball, but reading the game.

“For me, I can actually get on the ball without taking massive chances. I think it suits me better in this league, without jinxing myself.”

He added: “I know the team we had last year would do well in the Championship as we had that morale and work ethic and bit of quality as well.

“It was quite devastating to lose Kieran (Agard) as he works so hard for the team and gets goals. But I think we have done alright.”