Rotherham United boss listens to chairman and brings back 'Steve Evans of old'
STEVE Evans is going back to his former ways in a bid to transform Rotherham United's flagging League One fortunes.
The manager inspired back-to-back promotions at AESSEAL New York Stadium a decade ago when he was a notoriously tough taskmaster.
His second spell in charge has got off to a disappointing start and a word in his ear from Tony Stewart has persuaded the Scot to dust down his old self.
“Our chairman wants us to be positive, he wants us to be strong,” he said. “He wants the performances to be better.
“He's actually told me to be more of the Steve Evans I was the first time around. I was probably stronger and more of a disciplinarian then than I've been this time.”
Now aged 62, Evans claims he has mellowed over the last ten years, but he ditched his softer approach at the beginning of the week.
“It was activated from Monday, I've kicked it in,” he said. “Two or three of the experienced lads came up and said: ‘Fantastic, Gaffer. We've got clarity in what we're doing.’
“I'm not above criticism. The chairman has noticed that I need to tweak certain things. As my line manager, he's given his opinion, and I will always take my chairman's advice. He wants me to be assertive rather than aggressive - more assertive, more controlled.”
The Millers, who were beaten at Crawley Town last weekend, head into Tuesday's home clash with Lincoln City looking for a win that could lift them from 19th spot and kick-start their campaign.
Evans is set to shake up the side that went down in West Sussex by bringing back several players who missed out through sickness.
“My words last Saturday were that we had some players going through the motions," he said. “What I meant by that was that they didn't have the same attention to detail that my previous groups had.”