Coffees with Zak Jules, my Millers connection and 25 goals for Jonson Clarke-Harris ... Rotherham United boss Steve Evans writes for the Advertiser

He joined us after leaving Exeter City and then the big man endured a terrible summer in his personal life with the death of his mum.

We had many, many meetings: man to man, not manager to player. We'd just sit and chat over a bottle of water or a coffee.

He's come through his grief, got himself married and is now settled and happy at home.

It's showing in his football.

It's testament to the form of our centre-half is that he's kept a player of Jamie McCart's quality sitting beside me in the dugout.

Jamie was our best player at the start of the season until he got injured and Zak replaced him. It's a brilliant battle between those two.

A big plus we've got with Zak is that he's also a very accomplished left-back or left wing-back. People don't realise that. At MK Dons, before his time with Exeter, he was outstanding in those positions.

If his progress with us continues, he'll become a very, very competent Championship-level player.

His mum has sadly gone upstairs but he's making her very, very proud.

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ONCE a Miller, always a Miller.

I've always said it and I don't say it lightly.

I've managed at some superb clubs but there's something about this one that draws you in.

It's what made me come back for a second spell in the hot-seat after our two promotions together a decade ago.

The hard part for me when the approach for my services came in back in April was to leave Stevenage. I had a fantastic chairman and board there and I worked with fantastic people.

Taking them out of League Two and having them in contention for a place in the Championship was a feat on a par with the achievements at AESSEAL New York Stadium between 2012 and 2015.

There are legends around Rotherham United. I see people like Ronnie Moore and John Breckin and, genuinely, I'm in awe of them.

The attachment to this club is something that's inside you and never leaves you.

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JONSON Clarke-Harris has missed a chunk of our season but I'm still backing him to be among the division's top marksmen by the end of the campaign.

At his best, Jonno's a goal machine. You don't win the League One Golden Boot award twice without knowing where the net is.

He would have won it a third time had Peterborough United played him more in his last season there but they went with a different strategy.

Since his summer arrival, he's fought with his injuries and his sharpness. A calf issue cost him most of pre-season and then he was out for six weeks with a hamstring problem.

I'll tell you this, though ... if we keep him on the pitch he'll get 25 goals.