Evans to reassess Millers’ recruitment policy

STEVE EVANS has pledged that Rotherham United’s recruitment policy will take a different tack this summer – if the Millers complete their survival mission.
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans.Rotherham United manager Steve Evans.
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans.

Evans’s side took a giant stride towards Championship safety with a priceless 1-0 win over Brighton on Monday, which moved them seven points clear of third-from-bottom Millwall.

Four loanees took the field for United – Emiliano Martinez, Danny Lafferty, Jack Hunt and Farrend Rawson – with Adam Hammill on the bench.

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Match-day rules permitting just five loan players in a squad of 18 ensured Conor Sammon and Lawrie Wilson missed out.

The Millers have used 42 players this season and Evans says that lessons have been learned regarding purchases in their maiden season back in the Championship and they intend to be smarter ahead of 2015-16.

He said: “Gaining back-to-back promotions has been difficult and it is very hard to compete in the Championship against the big boys.

“But if we can survive and, hopefully, we will survive, we will do a lot of things differently and recruit better and do things which will improve us.

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“We hope that will be enough next season, but we have to concentrate on Middlesbrough on Saturday and nothing before then.”

While Evans does not yet see safety as a foregone conclusion, he is confident that if his side replicate Monday’s strong performance against Brighton in the coming weeks that they will retain their second-tier tenure.

He added: “As long as we maintain that effort, desire, passion and commitment, we’ve got more than enough here to make sure we are still a Championship club.

“But I don’t have a points tally or anything else. How difficult is the Championship?”

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Evans hailed the display of teenage defender Rawson in Monday’s win and feels the Derby County loanee – who will stay on for the rest of the season – is destined for the top flight.

Evans, whose side visit the Riverside on Saturday, said: “The young man is going to be in the Premier League. Hopefully he will get there with Derby. He is someone I think that highly of.

“It’s a big call to play a young man like that. But I know, having spoken to Macca (Derby boss Steve McClaren), how highly he thinks of Faz.”