The Steve Evans Column: 'We'll give Mallik the Ivan Toney treatment'

I signed Ivan from Newcastle United when I was manager of Peterborough United in 2018 and it was the perfect move for him at the time.

He hasn't done too badly since, has he! Didn't I see him in an England shirt at the recent Euros?

Ivan wasn't getting a look-in with the Magpies and he needed a refresh and reset.

He'd been at Newcastle for a good while under Rafa Benitez and had been told he wasn't going to have any chance of getting near the first-team group,. He'd had a period of different loans and I said to him: ‘Come here and be loved.’

It's like that with Mallik. He's had two frustrating seasons with Sheffield Wednesday and now he has a chance to revive his career at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

It's a reset for him here and he'll feel our love as we get him going again.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Mallik has been the stand-out goalscoring winger in League One in the last few years. Just look at his record with Doncaster Rovers and Hull City.

He's still only 25 and has so much potential, but that doesn't mean he's guaranteed a place in our starting 11.

We don't pick our team on reputation, we don't pick it on whether you've played 100 games for your country. We have no interest in that. We pick players on what we see them do for us in games and training.

I must give credit to Sheffield Wednesday for their help in getting the loan deal finalised, although it did take some time to get there.

Thank goodness we had our director of football recruitment, Rob Scott, handling things at our end.

I've previously made some comments that had it been me negotiating I'd have got out of it ages ago. I have no patience!

It was good to give Mallik his first Millers game-time as a late substitute in the draw with Bristol Rovers last Saturday.

Even in that 15/20-minute cameo you could see that there's a real player in there. He didn't play much in pre-season with the Owls and he needs those match minutes, that sharpness. Then he'll fly.

He'll give our supporters many a great day and evening, for sure.

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I HAVE a theory about Jonson Clarke-Harris's new haircut.

He shaved off his locks after our opening-day loss at Exeter City and, literally and figuratively, looked like a different player a few days later when we beat Crewe Alexandra.

I had a smile when I saw our skipper for the first time with no hair.

I said to myself: ‘He's trying to disguise himself from the supporters who went to Exeter, he's trying to convince the fans there are two Jonson Clarke-Harrises. There's J C-H big hair and J C-H bald.’

He didn't give us a lot at St James Park. He was made aware that it doesn't matter if you're Jonson Clarke-Harris or young Jack Holmes, there is a level of what is acceptable out there. You have to work hard for that badge. Jonno knew.

There was a huge improvement in him against Crewe, when he set up our winner and was unlucky not to score himself.

He carried that on against Bristol Rovers when he was again very unfortunate not to get himself on the scoresheet.

The goals will come if he keeps playing like that.

We have to remember that Jonson missed a large chunk of pre-season with a little injury and featured in only our final three friendlies.

You can see that he is still fighting for that little bit of sharpness. He's a Trojan and he'll get there.

He got his first full 90 minutes against Crewe and Rovers, and that's brilliant for him and for Rotherham United. In both matches, he led the team as a captain should lead the team.

The League One star signing of the summer remains Jonson Clarke-Harris. You watch ... the stats at the end of the season will back me up.

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“HE goes down too easily ...” “He spends all his time on the ground ...”

I've heard what's being said about our striker, Jordan Hugill, and I need to come to his defence.

Jordan is a much better player than he's given credit for. He's played against my teams in the past and has always been a handful.

I remember him scoring a late equaliser for Preston North End against my Leeds United side at the back end of the 2015/16 season.

He didn't have his best game in our first match of the campaign, at Exeter, but that was my fault more than his. We tried to play a particular way and it clearly didn't work so we have to find alternatives.

Jordan has a big part to play here. People always want to knock players who they believe to be on lots and lots of money compared to everyone else.

It's not always the case that what you read on fans' forums and hear on fans' phone-ins is true.

Jordan will just concentrate on his football and I'm sure he will play many games and score goals that will help us have a good season.

This is a season of transition for us. We're a work in progress. The overriding consideration in all of that, though, is that we must never forget that we must win matches during that process. You want to make sure your players are giving everything for the jersey.

I was asked at a recent press conference if he looks for a free-kick rather than trying to make good use of the ball. As his manager, I think that label is unfair.

Some strikers get a battering from defenders and Jordan is one of them. Some referees give you protection, some don't.

He's not the only centre-forward in our ranks who suffers. Let's talk about Jonson Clarke-Harris.

Against Crewe, he was almost being strangled by one of their defenders. If that happens on the High Street, someone's going in the van with the blue lights flashing.

Jonson didn't even get a free-kick. Then the referee says afterwards: 'Clarke-Harris can look after himself.'Jonson can. But that doesn't mean a centre-half should be allowed to put someone in a stranglehold!

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YOU beautiful lot!

I've been informed that our season-ticket sales are only a couple of dozen short of the 7,000 mark.

6,923, to be exact.

That is an amazing show of support when you consider the dismal events of last season before I came back for a second spell in charge in April.

I'm making a last appeal for that magic 7,000 number to be hit.That's so I can honour my pledge to match Viktor Johansson's ‘buy the beers’ gesture last term and stand a matchday round of 600 pints at a hostelry close to New York Stadium.

I'd much rather there was beer in your glasses than cash staying in my pocket!

Also, if we got over 7,000, I'd drive to the home of the person who'd bought ticket 7,001, present it to them and give them the money for it.

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I FELT so sorry for another of our new boys, Jack Holmes, during our Carabao Cup victory over Crewe.

As everyone knows, we've taken the winger from the third tier of non-league football and now he has a real chance to make his mark in the pro game.

I've said that we got him for the price of a Chinese takeaway. That's not quite true but he isn't exactly being paid a fortune.

I was desperate to give Jack a substitute's outing late on against Crewe for two reasons.

I think he would have caused their left-back a few problems and it would also have been a little financial boost for him because he earns more for getting on to the pitch than he does for turning up to training every day.

We tried twice but it didn't quite work out and he ended up being stranded on the touchline when the final whistle went.

His time will come.

Already, the lads trust him enough to give him the ball, and that's tremendous credit to him.

He will go on to play lots of minutes for us in League One this season.