Is Jamie McCart playing himself off Rotherham United's transfer list?

After two years in the Millers wilderness, the centre-half was selected in the starting 11 for last weekend's League One opener at Exeter City and responded with a solid performance on the left side of a three-man backline.

The Scot had been placed on the transfer list at the end of last season following loan spells with Leyton Orient and Barnsley and a summer exit seemed certain.

Evans has stopped short of taking the player off the list but is prepared to give him further opportunities to impress.

Speaking after the 1-0 loss to Exeter, Evans told the Advertiser: “I thought he was outstanding again today. We've always said, your eyes don't tell you lies.

“He'd been outstanding in training all week. Every member of staff, when we discussed who should be picked, said Jamie McCart.”

Signed by Paul Warne in the summer of 2022, the centre-back found himself out of favour under Warne's successor, Matt Taylor, and was sent on loan to League Two Orient in January 2023.

Having helped the London club to promotion, he then reached the League One Play-off Final with Barnsley as he spent all of last term with the Oakwell club.

When asked about taking McCart off the list, Evans said: “Let's see where it goes. We want to keep good players and he's been a good player for us in the last two weeks.”

The player was hit by a pre-season calf problem which sidelined him for all but one of Rotherham's friendly fixtures. Once he was fit, he played well in the 0-0 friendly draw against Doncaster Rovers last weekend

It was the first time that Evans, who took the hot-seat in April, had seen him in competitive action.

McCart was taken off after 69 minutes against Exeter in a substitution that was no reflection on his display.

“He's lacking a bit of game-time and we also changed the formation to bring on another forward,” Evans said

The 27-year-old has entered the final year of his Millers contract but the club may hold a 12-month extension option.