The Steve Evans Column ... The Rotherham United boss writes for the Advertiser

Contending for promotion is, obviously, the only aim.

TRUST me, no-one was more frustrated than I was when we didn't take all three points against Burton Albion.

It should have been a 3-1 victory, not a 2-2 draw. Victory would have lifted us another eight places in the table and put us in the play-off picture.

We've played six league matches now and we'll know after 12/14 games where we are. You have an idea then because you've played a mix of teams.

The highest-placed sides we've faced so far are Charlton Athletic (third) and Huddersfield Town (fourth) and we comfortably had the best of both of those fixtures.

The loss of key players at different times – Sean Raggett, Joe Rafferty, Christ Tiehi and Liam Kelly have all been out – has hurt us, but we feel as if we're getting there as a team and that the ‘Rotherham DNA’ is developing. That can take time with a new group like ours.

Contending for promotion is, obviously, the only aim.

I knew the level of expectation placed on me as soon as I walked through the door as manager again last April and I welcome it.

The standards at the top of this league are going to be quite awesome over the course of the season and I'm relishing the challenge.

Pressure? I can cope with that. I've never accepted mediocrity in my life and pressure comes with pushing yourself to the limit to achieve.

I discussed this subject in the summer during one of the chats I had with Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder and we both said that your drive for the highest level of standards comes from within.

The visit of Burton had me thinking back to August 2012 and my first spell here when the Brewers were our opponents in the first-ever league match at AESSEAL New York Stadium

I remember it well. We won 3-0 in front of a full house and there was fantastic excitement.

Daniel Nardiello scored an early penalty to set us on our way and the atmosphere was electric.

I'm very proud of that day. It certainly doesn't feel like 12 years ago.

When I joined the club we were playing at Don Valley Stadium. New York was still being built and the move there didn't happen until a few months later.

Through chairman Tony Stewart and his family we've come so far since those cold, bleak days of being at Don Valley.

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JOE Rafferty ... leader, Sean Raggett ... leader, Jamie McCart ... leader. I could go on.

Every successful team has to have big characters in its dressing room, and we've got them in abundance here at Rotherham United.

Being a leader doesn't necessarily mean being the loudest (that's my job!), it means being an influence on the men around you.

Rafferty has a way about him that makes people respond to him. I see both goalkeepers, Dillon Phillips and Cameron Dawson, being vocal and speaking their minds.

I look at McCart, he's vocal on the pitch, an organiser, an encourager. Cameron Humphreys does it in a different way.

Liam Kelly is a leader by example and, although he's quiet away from the heat of battle, his voice is one that can be heard during games.

Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jordan Hugill, I don't think anyone would describe them as shy boys.

Rafferty, Jonno and Alex MacDonald lead with positivity. That helps a new group like ours.

The class of 2024/25 reminds me of the teams we built more than a decade ago, the ones that went from League Two to League One to the Championship.

There was Kari Arnason, Craig Morgan, James Tavernier, Lee Frecklington, Michael O'Connor, Alex Revell, Wes Thomas, Ben Pringle, Kieran Agard. In their own way, they were all leaders.

What they had in common was, they played for each other, not for themselves.