Ten games in ... Rotherham United boss Steve Evans isn't happy yet, but there's reason for hope

Welcome to Rotherham United in 2024/25, a League One season that is meant to end in promotion under a manager who already has two of them on his CV from his previous spell at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Ten games have gone, the traditional time for taking stock: three wins, three defeats, four draws.

Importantly, two of those victories have come in the last three matches as Steve Evans' men have finally delivered the results they threatened but didn't achieve in the campaign's opening stages.

Seventeenth spot, not so great. Three points away from the play-offs, much better. It's a tough, tight division that has yet to truly settle: Birmingham City plus 23, with a good number of the 23 in with a shout.

The manner of the second-half fightback against Reading last weekend offered as much cause for hope as the victory did.

The Millers brimming and bursting, New York bouncing, opponents broken. We've seen that before at this level and it usually ends well.

“Are we happy? No,” said Evans when asked after that game to deliver his assessment so far. “Should we have a lot more points on the board? The simple answer is ‘yes’.

“Today's win puts us in with a huge number of other clubs. Some of those clubs will be saying that they've had a great start to the season, we don't associate our start with being great.”

So, there should be more to come then …

The boss's presence has certainly livened things up since the deadly dullness and drop of last term.

If his team had played as a good a game as he has talked, Birmingham fans would be talking about Rotherham plus 23.

Fourteen summer arrivals were always going to take time to come together. Just because it's a bit boring to say that doesn't make it any less true.

Two things Evans hasn't been shy of is promising Jonson Clarke-Harris will come good and praising chairman Tony Stewart.

“I've had incredible support that makes you want to bounce out of bed at half past five in the morning, does make you want to bounce into training, does make you want to keep your troops' spirits up.”

Told you.

The Clarke-Harris conundrum is a difficult one.

The player's third-tier record over the last few years doesn't just stand comparison with those of any other striker, it exceeds them all.

That prompted Evans to describe the hitman as ‘the League One coup of the transfer window’ after making him his first capture following his April return to S60.

Pre-season was a bad time for the centre-forward to be hit by a four-week injury lay-off and it's a concern that more than two months of sharpening work since has yet to consistently produce the impact everyone was expecting.

In terms of how much time you give him, how long is long enough, how long is too long?

Much is now pinned on Sam Nombe who was meant to be the secondary partner in the Millers frontline.

Of other new boys, Joe Rafferty and Reece James are proving themselves to be among the best full-backs in the division and midfielder Joe Powell has shown his left foot is capable of being a wand. If he waves it to make some errant set-piece deliveries disappear, he'll be a major asset.

Liam Kelly isn't really a find because everyone already knew how good he is. Rotherham don't want to become too reliant on a 34-year-old playmaker whose talent isn't in question but whose fitness record is.

They miss Ollie Rathbone.

Experiments with three at the back haven't worked and the regular 4-3-1-2 formation has sparked concerns that the Millers don't play with enough width.

Against that, the manager will point out that it was assists from Powell and Rafferty from wide areas that set up the width over Reading.

Injured Sean Raggett has been a big miss, Jamie McCart taking his chance after two years in the shadows has been a big plus.

Once the former is fit, the battle for places in the centre of defence involving those two and Cameron Humphreys will be intense.

Only Birmingham have given the Millers the runaround and Evans' men have been more than a match for every other team they've faced – the opening-day blip at Exeter City apart – even if results haven't always shown it.

They were better than two sides expected to challenge for the Championship, Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic.

So, Rotherham have been poor at times, indifferent at times, dominant at times. And, hey, at least we're not talking about winless away records any longer.

Remember, it’s a work in progress. And, as a work in progress, it's progressing.