Rotherham v Preston: Frustrated Evans calling for officials to be held to account

Now the Rotherham United chief believes that it is high time that some others in the footballing fraternity share centre stage under the full glare of the spotlight to answer certain probing questions. Namely referees and match officials.

Evans’s exasperation was clear to see on numerous occasions last term when he railed against a plethora of perceived injustices, with the Scot even going so far as to accuse some Football League officials of not wanting the Millers in the Championship earlier this year with several key decisions having counted against his side.

In that respect, this season has started off in similar fashion with Evans still barely able to conceal his anger after the Millers were denied a penalty for handball in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Nottingham Forest.

It came at a key juncture in proceedings, with the offender –Forest defender Eric Lichaj – admitting after the game to Jordan Bowery that he had handled a goalbound shot from his former Aston Villa team-mate early in the second half with the score delicately poised at 1-1.

After a horror start to the season on home soil against MK Dons in front of stunned Millers supporters in a 4-1 loss, the unfortunate reverse at the City Ground was similarly painful.

It was compounded by the lack of an explanation from the officials about the controversial game-turning moment, with Evans growing heartily sick of banging his head against the proverbial brick wall and the lack of public accountability for referees and their assistants.

Evans said: “It’s like the old Russia; a secret-society; you can’t get an answer ...

“I have only met Mike Riley once and he’s the head of all the referees. He’s a good guy and was full of integrity when I met him and he was telling me about an incident I got wrong and he was explaining it.

“I am sure Mike and David Allison, the head of the referees at the Football League can somehow fight for a system where referees speak to the media about key match incidents and why they have given certain decisions.

“I think it might have been embarrassing for the referee on Saturday to try and explain the lack of a penalty to Rotherham United and two or three other decisions.

“But football has got to a stage where it’s a worldwide brand. If people like Jose Mourinho, (Manuel) Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger are now asking for it, then let referees explain themselves. The days are gone when they can drive off and leave people behind them to pick up the bits.”

All told, the opening to the Championship campaign has been a wholly frustrating one for the Millers who, alongside Bristol City, prop up the embryonic table with no points.

But Evans was at least consoled by the performance of his side at Forest, which he feels vanquished memories of a forgettable opening-day loss to MK.

The hope now is for that display in Nottingham to be replicated against Preston this evening, but with some tangible reward for the Millers efforts at the end.

Evans said: “I went home after MK Dons really, really down; that puts you as down as you can be as a manager. But I know my eyes don’t tell me lies. Our performance in spells at the City Ground was very, very good.

“We have lots to improve on still. But there’s lots to work with and lots of plusses.

“As a manager, you can’t ignore what is in front of you or tell yourself lies. My coaching staff are also not allowed to tell me lies; I want the truth – good or bad.

“And we were all enthused about the performance we watched on Saturday when we were coming home.”

Evans will keep faith with loanee Kelle Roos in goal and has refused to wholly blame the Dutchman for his faux pas in not handling the cross which led to Michail Antonio’s winner on Saturday.

The Scot also made no bones about the fact that he believes that Adam Collin is currently not doing enough to warrant a promotion at the expense of Roos.

Evans, who also confirmed that forward Jonson Clarke-Harris – like Collin – needs to step up if he is to also earn a first-team recall, said: “People were quick to pick on Kelle Roos for the goal on Saturday. But just look at the goal again.

“There were four mistakes for that goal. Kelle was outstanding on Saturday, but made one error and it led to a goal.

“Adam’s performances in training games and closed-doors reserves games have not been good enough. We need Adam’s performances to step back up to the performances he is capable of.”

Last six games: Rotherham DWDLWL; Preston WWWDWW.

Referee: D Coote (West Yorks).

Last time out: Rotherham 3 Preston 1; May 15, 2014; League One play-offs.