'A big lesson I learned from Sir Alex Ferguson' ... The Steve Evans Column

He told me he'd started telling his players who was in the team closer to kick-off time rather than on Thursday or Friday because he was picking up the tabloid newspapers on Saturday morning and seeing his line-up in them.

I took what he said on board and since then I've named my team at 1.30pm on the day of the game.

That way my side can't be leaked and the opposition can't gain an advantage.

More and more managers are going down the same route these days because leaking certainly happens.

A player can be told he's not in the side, he tells a friend or maybe his agent and suddenly the whole world knows who's playing and who isn't.

Last season, I must have been given seven opposing teams the day before the game.

No-one can get hold of my side in advance if I'm not revealing it until only 90 minutes before kick-off.

If it was good enough for the great Sir Alex, it's good enough for me.

******************

NO-ONE needs to remind me of that frightening stat: no away victory since November 8 2022.

It was that long ago that I think Tommy Docherty was still the manager.

I'm here to put things right.

Your home form is always massive but you need to be capable of hitting the road and getting a win. Twenty-two months is far too long for any club not to have won on their travels, let alone one as good and respected as ours.

The run nearly came to an end at Charlton Athletic last Saturday when we were leading as the match went into its closing stages.

Most people would say a 1-1 draw at a side in a play-off spot is a great result, but I'm still disappointed we didn't see out the game.

The first-half performance was okay, the second-half one was much better after a few words were said at the interval.

I think we're starting to see the benefits of having a month with no midweek fixtures.

The way you get players into top form is by working with them on the training ground and, until recently, we've had limited time to do that because it's been Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, which kills you a bit.

We're sorting that out now that our schedule is no longer play, recover, play, recover and the boys are looking sharper.

******************

I DROVE to a hotel within ten minutes of Joe Powell's house and the pair of us sat together over a couple of coffees and talked for two hours.

Then he signed for us.

Joe's a talented boy and had four other clubs chasing his services in the summer after he'd parted company with Burton Albion.

Part of the reason he chose us is that he appreciated how I was willing to go the extra mile to get him.

With players today, when you want them, you have to demonstrate how much more you want them than another manager does.

I have no problem doing the travelling to save them the inconvenience. I'm happy to take that inconvenience.

When we meet up, I give them a complete scenario of how I see them in the jigsaw we're trying to complete: ‘I want to sign you, I want to tell you where I'm planning to play you, how I'm going to play you, where you'll fit into our structure.’

The financial details are handled by our chairman, chief operating officer and director of football recruitment while my remit is the football side of things.

I'm always thankful to a player who wants to come and be part of something special here.

Joe was one of 14 arrivals at AESSEAL New York Stadium during the transfer window that closed at the end of last month.

Clubs can still sign free agents. You never say never and you check out every player who is available, but I'd be surprised if we add anyone else to our squad.

I have to say, I hate the way some free agents are treated elsewhere as they try to earn contracts.

Some of them train all through the summer with a club and play in friendlies as trialists.

A lot of managers hint that there's going to be something on the table and then those offers don't materialise. The players have just been used to fulfil pre-season schedules.

I've never done that and I never will do either. You're messing with someone's life, someone who has responsibility for bills, a mortgage, maybe children.

Be honest with people. Then you can look them – and yourself – in the eye.

******************

HOW good was it to see our attacker, Andre Green, finally back out on the grass again last week?

It's nearly a year now since he ruptured his Achilles tendon only a couple of months into his Rotherham United career.

He's still a fair way off a first-team return but I had no hesitation in naming him in the squad list we had to submit to the EFL at the close of the transfer window.

I included him because there is a real belief that he could be playing again in November.

I won't lie, it also helped that we had a couple of places spare. The conversation might have been a different one had we signed a couple of players on deadline day.

He's not with the main group yet – he's with the medical team – but he's getting there.

And the minute you've got Andre Green fully fit in League One, you've got a major asset.

He's got fantastic ability, he's got great movement, he's got that great touch on the ball.

I never liked him when he played against my teams in the past because he would hurt you. He's not dissimilar to Mallik Wilks in that he can be a game-changer.

The first step for Andre is to get training, pain-free and with no issues, with the lads, for a couple of weeks, and then we can introduce him to games on the training ground.

If he comes through those, he's good to go.