Millers doing due diligence on their one target, says Evans

He is determined not to bring in a player who might jeopardise the spirit and stability inside the dressing room at the New York Stadium.

Evans says he has spent the last 12 months getting rid of what he calls “bad apples” at Rotherham and now has a team sitting in the League One play-offs.

He took advice from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on how to deal with troublesome players in his squad.

“Sir Alex Ferguson told me back in March, ‘If you get a bad apple treat it like cancer’, said Evans.

“It’s a dreaded word, but take an inch in circumference all the way round, cut it out and throw it away.

“We are going to try and do some business. We are checking out one or two things about his background. One target, one player.

“We know the player, all about him, had him watched plenty of times. He is someone we like a lot.

“We are now in the process of asking people behind the scenes of whether he would fit in our dressing room.

“Hopefully, the checks will come back positive.

“The over-riding factor is you have to make sure there is no bad apples in there (the dressing room). We fought for 12 months to get rid of bad apples, not one particular person.

“They don’t come in on a Monday to be a bad apple. It’s just through a period of time they can drag people in the wrong direction.

“So thanks to the staff, the bad apples we have managed to throw away.

“We have to make sure when we add to the dressing room, the background checks off the pitch, are as equally important as their ability on it.

“The dressing room is such a tight place.”

The Millers do not have a huge squad, but as changes showed in the 3-0 midweek win at York City in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, they do have quality players on the sidelines.

“We have got strength in depth, but we are always looking to strengthen when we can,” said Evans.

“We have good competition throughout the squad, but nothing gets a better performance from a player when he knows someone is waiting to take his shirt.

“I have had more chats with the chairman this week and if we can do that and it fits, we will do it.

“But there’s no need to rush in because we are in a good place,” he added.

“It was an excellent performance (at York). We competed and took the sting out of the game in the first half. In the second half we passed it around and won as comfortably as any team could wish to win away from home.”

Strikers Daniel Nardiello and Matt Tubbs missed the midweek trip to York City, but should return tomorrow when Rotherham host promotion rivals Swindon Town in League One.

The Millers are also missing the influential Kari Arnason, who is away on international duty with Iceland.