Rotherham United: Steve Evans takes jab at Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

The Scotsman has made these comments ahead of the Millers' game against the Blades on Saturday.

Rotherham United manager Steve Evans has thrown a little jab at Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, prior to his side's pre-season meeting with the former, saying that the Millers, as a club, are in a better state than their two South Yorkshire rivals.

Anybody who has ever listened to the Scottish boss knows that he is no stranger to confrontation and wind-ups; some would argue he's one of the more prolific leaders in the EFL when it comes to those two categories.

And, even though his team have just been relegated to League One, he's not afraid to go after those who are higher ranked in the English footballing pyramid than Rotherham are.

Like Wednesday, the Millers have been very active in the transfer market, as Evans' teams tend to be. They've hit a dozen new players with the loan signing of Nottingham Forest striker Esapa Osong, and they look to be in pretty good shape to give themselves a chance to deliver on the other end of their Championship-League One yo-yo effect and go up again next season.

They host the Blades on Saturday for their first home pre-season friendly of the summer. Even though it's not a competitive game, the boss hasn't missed out on a chance to try and throw a sly hook at his upcoming opponents.

Steve Evans' dig at Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday

The Scotsman has stated that the Millers, as a club, are in better shape than the two Steel City sides, ahead of their match-up with United. Although he did find some space to praise his upcoming opponents.

Evans said to the Rotherham Advertiser: "The Blades game is when we start to get a little bit more serious. They've made some great signings. Well done, Chris Wilder, a friend of mine. Players will be playing at New York in front of a sizeable crowd. Our supporters will be looking to see what our team is like.

"I love playing against the Sheffield clubs. Why wouldn't you? We've always got a point to prove, haven't we? We're always that little pup looking up at the big boys. It's great. That's no disrespect to anyone. It's the nature of the size of the clubs.

"We're very proud of what we are, we're very proud of our history. Where do we sit in the levels of clubs? We're debt-free, we have a fantastic stadium, a fantastic owner and fans who would die for our club. We're in really good shape. I don't think that can be said about the big Sheffield clubs. But they're both great, traditional clubs."

There are certainly some concerns or worries with the ownership of both Sheffield teams. United are in the midst of a takeover by an American consortium, although it seems to be stalling a bit. Wednesday seem to be going in the right direction under Danny Rohl, but the supporters' feelings towards Dejphon Chansiri still aren't great.

Rotherham have a very good chance of a quick Championship return

Statistically, and relatively, the Millers were the second-worst team in the English professional leagues last time out - only the Blades had a lower amount of points per game in the 2023/24 campaign than Rotherham.

It quickly became apparent last season that they were nowhere near the level required. The worry with that is then, once the drop happens, how quickly can you turn things around. Well, the number of incomings and outgoings should give you a bit of an indication of that.

Many, many players who were part of the previous campaign's cohort have now left, and they have been replaced by some top players for the League One level. Jonson Clarke Harris, Joe Rafferty, Sean Raggett, Reece James, Liam Kelly, Joe Powell. It's a completely new side, and one that could cause serious problems in what's set up to be a very competitive league.