Rotherham United faithful cannot be blinded by Steve Evans recency - he's a Millers icon | OneFootball

Steve Evans' latest spell ended in disaster - but he should still be regarded as a Millers Legend

Steve Evans was dismissed from his second spell with Rotherham United following an underwhelming, bleak and problematic season in charge which saw the fans disconnect from the club, the players underperforming on the pitch and a lack of identity to a club already devoid of much hope.

Evans caused controversy with his post-match comments digging out players, blaming the previous few years as a cause for Rotherham’s downfall and his flippant opinions on style of play and lack of accountability caused distaste within the Milers’ faithful.

Each win was down to Evans’ credit and every loss was someone else’s fault. Games lost deserved to be won and games won were total domination. Of course, there were results such as convincing wins against Bolton and Charlton, but there were more poor moments which would have seen any other manager lose their job. Barnsley away, Wigan at home and Burton away were three times when Evans’ previous loyalties allowed him more time than most.

This time, the inevitability ended after a dreadful result against relegation threatened Crawley, where the away side completely dominated proceedings and were justly rewarded for their dominance with a comfortable win.

Instead of his boisterous, enigmatic post-match interview with his clip-bite comments, Evans was reserved and almost accepting of the fact that it was his last game of his second Rotherham tenure.

An honest, sad end to a passionate, loyal manager who was not the right man for the club at the time.

This shouldn’t take away from his stature and legacy as a Millers’ legend and an icon regarded in high esteem amongst Rotherham managers in years gone by.

Evans’ first time in the hot seat

Back in 2012, Rotherham United had gained some momentum since a tumultuous time with behind-the-scenes issues regarding changing of chairmen and points deductions. Andy Scott was in charge, but, with the club eight points off the play-off places in April, Tony Stewart decided to change things and brought in Evans, a man who had brought Crawley up to the Football League, winning numerous personal accolades along the way.

Starting the first season in the newly built New York Stadium, Evans brought in 13 new players, including Daniel Nardiello, Kieran Agard, Lee Frecklington and Kári Árnason. These signings propelled Rotherham to second in League Two and automatic promotion to League One – a new, exciting challenge and territory for the newly reformed Rotherham under Evans’ leadership.

The 2013/2014 season was, again, a memorable one. This season, 12 players were brought in to provide a similar reaction to Evans’ first full season in charge. This time, the Millers were to go straight to fourth and the play-offs, fired up by the brilliant form of players such as James Tavernier, Frecklington and Agard, culminated in a trip to Wembley. This game almost summed up Evans’ time as manager of the Millers – full of chaos, drama and upset. The Millers found themselves two down at half-time before equalising thanks to an Alex Revell volleying from the half-way line, causing the manager to sprint down the touchline towards the Rotherham faithful before then completing the comeback on penalties to see off Leyton Orient.

Again, Evans achieved new heights in the following season, keeping Rotherham up in the Championship at the first time of asking. This drew into account the many loans Evans brought in, some including the likes of Emi Martínez, Luciano Becchio, Emmanuel Ledesma and Tom Lawrence.

The many players entering on such short-term deals were successful but left the club bare for the following season. This disagreement on transfers lay the groundwork for Leeds to come in and swoop Evans from the Millers' grasp.

Thus ended the first reign of the Scotsman, which transformed the club from a smaller, operating League Two club to the heights of the Championship and competing with these big teams.

What went so right for Evans

There are, of course, numerous factors that went into Evans’ success the first time around with the club. His recruitment ended up being spot on – Agard, Frecklington, Árnason, Tavernier and many others truly built a fantastic set-up that reacted well with the management style and allowed the club to thrive in the following years.

These players were playing above a level they had previously. Evans had pulled out their best qualities and displayed them on the pitch for all to see. A bit of bite, a bit of tenacity and a lot of heart allowed these players to really flourish in the Evans set-up.

Having said this, Evans’ tactics were never his strongest suit. What was, was his mentality.

He was a Miller man, a passionate manager and a manager who would not accept defeat. This wasn’t a man that was a good loser, who could pick up the good aspects of a performance despite the result, but who would ridicule players for not running that extra bit, who wouldn’t throw their body in the way of the ball or who wouldn’t get their head of an incoming delivery.

This passion for victory was instilled within the players. The best example is the Leyton Orient play-off final – coming back from behind in the most important game of their careers to not only take the game to penalties but to come from behind in the penalty shootout too.

This belief and passion bred itself on the pitch and infected the fans in the stand. After his first season in charge, as a fan, you could just feel the club in the right direction. You could feel the wins before they materialised, and you could feel the fear in the opposition stepping onto the pitch.

The charisma of the man was hard not to get behind. Albeit a Scotsman, he often referred himself as Miller, would sign long-term deals live on Sky Sports and, overall, had a chaotic, lovable charm to him that made it easy to get down to New York on a Saturday and support the team he had cultivated.

A man detached from his most recent stint in charge of this club, his club.

But the exploits he manufactured and the memories he created for every Miller fan will live long in the memory when talking about their “best moments”.