Watford v Rotherham Utd: Millers hold more appeal than Posh for Evans

Steve Evans says the challenge of establishing Rotherham United in the Championship is enough to satisfy him amid speculation the Millers’ manager is wanted by Peterborough United.
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).

The 52-year-old Scot was installed on Sunday night as the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Darren Ferguson as manager of the League One side.

It is the third time this season that Evans has been linked with a move away from the New York Stadium, having steered the Millers to successive promotions from the basement division.

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Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart told The Yorkshire Post last night that the club had not received an approach for Evans, nor were they expecting one.

Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).
Rotherham United manager Steve Evans (Picture: Ryan Browne/PA Wire).

While Evans yesterday distanced himself from the Peterborough post, he stopped short of putting Millers’ fans minds at ease by giving an emphatic ‘no’ to the rumours.

“Wasn’t I favourite for Sheffield Wednesday? Wasn’t I favourite for Leyton Orient?” he asked, rhetorically.

“My phone started going crazy at 7pm last night, but I know nothing about it.

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“My focus is on doing a job here, my focus is on Watford (tonight).

“I understand where the speculation comes from. I have a good relationship with the chairman down there, I have a good relationship with Barry Fry.

“Darren Ferguson lost his job on Saturday, so, with due respect to him, it wouldn’t be fitting for me to make another comment.”

The Peterborough link owes much to the fact that Evans’s wife is from the area and the family home is still there.

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In the past, Evans has not been afraid to drop down a division to take a job with a bigger club.

It was, after all, how he came to manage Rotherham in April, 2012, when they were in League Two and the Crawley side he had hoisted out of non-league football were bound for League One.

Evans has made a habit of winning promotions in recent seasons, but outsiders might suggest he has reached his ceiling with the Millers, who have a ground with a 12,000-seat capacity and no pedigree of playing in the Premier League.

Despite a 5-0 defeat at Wolves on Saturday, the Millers look to be winning the battle against the relegation many had tipped them to suffer, and Evans remains convinced that the challenge to continue building Rotherham is sufficient to keep him happy.

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“Without doubt, it’s a big enough challenge,” he said. “If you give something a huge part of your life and you see that there’s progress to be made then you believe in it.

“If I thought my time at Rotherham was just solely about a battle each season to keep us in the Championship then I’d say that’s probably the time to put an end to the battle for me. That’s because I like to go into a competition believing I can do well in it.

“This season was all about making sure we’re in the Championship going forward, to enable our chairman the opportunity to put the other side of the infrastructure in place.

“He’s worked so hard with the stadium and with the other facilities. There’s a lot that we speak about on a daily basis that we want to implement and you can only implement those changes in the Championship.”

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Evans’s words could be viewed as a tacit appeal to Stewart and the Millers to match his ambition, suggesting that if a bigger club were to come in for him, he would be interested in exploring the option to leave.

“If there is an interest in Steve Evans they’d be ringing Tony Stewart,” said the Millers’ chief, whose side visit Watford tonight for a fixture that marks the end of a tough run against big-budget clubs.

“If they have an interest, that’s where I’d direct their phone calls.

“But our fans should have no right to be concerned.

“Steve Evans, according to our supporters, was leaving to join Sheffield Wednesday because a big club had come calling, because I said at the time – which was true – that Sheffield Wednesday are a great club. It just wasn’t for me.

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“When Leyton Orient surfaced, I wasn’t going to comment on speculation – but I wasn’t going to go to Leyton Orient.

“I can’t deal with ‘what ifs?’. What if Celtic come? It doesn’t mean I’ll go, does it?

“I’m under contract to do a job here. I live in the town and I’ll give it everything I’ve got.

“The fact it takes me away from my family, well it’s done that for two and a half years.

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“I’ve got a fantastic job at a fantastic club and I work for a great man. I represent the most passionate and wonderful supporters and there’s not many managers who wouldn’t want to be a part of that.”

Last six games: Watford WLWWWL, Rotherham WDWLDL.

Referee: A Davies (Hampshire).

Last time: Watford 0 Rotherham 0; November 20, 2004; Championship.