Steve Evans' message to Rotherham United's Peter Kioso about next season

The right-back was allowed to leave AESSEAL New York Stadium on loan last summer by previous boss Matt Taylor and headed to League One Peterborough United where he excelled until being recalled by the Championship Millers in January following Taylor's sacking.

Evans, who took the hot-seat just under a fortnight ago after Leam Richardson suffered the same fate as Taylor, is a huge admirer of the 24-year-old.

“‘PK’ is a really good player,” he said. “He was excellent - stunning at times - for Peterborough. I've had a chat with him and told him he's very much in the plans here.”

Kioso was reluctant to leave Posh, where he had become a cult hero with fans, and they have intimated that they will try to land him on a permanent deal in the summer.

His first year with the Millers, after he'd been signed from Luton Town in June 2022 during the reign of Paul Warne, was wrecked by injury and Taylor saw him as surplus to requirements in the second tier this term.

He came up against Evans' Stevenage team in Peterborough colours in a 2-2 draw at the Lamex Stadium in November.

The Millers have been relegated from the second tier and Evans is confident he can make them promotion contenders in their first season back in League One.

The boss finds it baffling that the player was allowed to leave New York on loan last July.

“My mind boggles as to why he was in League One when he's a Rotherham United player,” he said.

Dublin-born Kioso, who has a year left on his contract, has made 12 Millers appearances since his return but a hamstring issue ruled him out of last Saturday's 2-0 loss at Bristol City and could see him miss this weekend's final-day home clash with Cardiff City.

After that, Evans will make a presentation to the board outlining what he feels is required to turn around the club's fortunes.

Reflecting on his first two weeks at the helm, he said: “The training ground has been upbeat. We've been working incredibly hard.”