Rotherham United boss Steve Evans' doubts over Christmas Day decision

​The manager allowed his squad to spend December 25 at home only for them to turn in a poor performance 24 hours later as they went down 1-0 at the hands of the Latics at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

As he dissected the Boxing Day loss that kept his team stuck only three places above League One's drop zone, Evans questioned whether some of his men had been as disciplined as they should have.

He said: “I'm not sure they've all prepared for this game as much as they should have done. But I'll never know until the day I leave this planet.

“I have to go into (Sunday's) Stockport County match positive rather than reflecting and saying: ‘Well, I have given them yesterday off, should I have done that?’”

The players had been provided with fitness routines to follow while they were away from their Roundwood base.

The Millers, who were without Sean Raggett and Christ Tiehi (both injured) and Zak Jules (chest infection), had been the better side in the first half against Athletic only to fall behind seconds before the break.

They then failed to mount much of a response as they chased an equaliser following the interval.

Evans brought in 14 new faces in a bid to build a promotion-chasing side but has so far been unable to replicate the success of his first spell in charge at New York a decade ago.

“I've got no complaints about who we signed in the summer but there are one or two who we'd call big-game players who aren't turning up,” he said.

“It has to be a team that bleeds for the shirt. I'm not so sure one or two were bleeding late on against Wigan.”