Rotherham have appointed Steve Evans for a second spell in charge after sacking Leam Richardson.
Richardson left on Wednesday morning after losing 18 of his 24 games, overseeing relegation to League One, and Evans was swiftly named as his replacement on a three-year deal after he quit as Stevenage’s manager.
Evans, 61, managed Rotherham between 2012 and 2015, when he guided the club from League Two to Championship safety. He leaves Stevenage having taken them from the bottom of League Two to just outside of the League One playoffs. Only a highly unlikely sequence of results could enable them to finish in a playoff place.
“It’s not what we wanted, but compensation clauses are in place for a reason and these things happen in football,” said Stevenage’s chairman, Phil Wallace. “The approach was unexpected but handled in the right manner by both clubs and we told Steve that, after all he’d done for our club, we would not stand in his way if the compensation terms were met and he wanted to leave … Steve will always be welcome [here] as far as I’m concerned and it’s been a privilege to work with him for the last two years.”
Evans’ return to Yorkshire heralds a change in structure, with the director of football, Rob Scott, reverting to head of recruitment and Evans coming in as manager rather than head coach.
“Following extensive conversations at board level, it was unanimously agreed that a change of direction was needed to give us the best possible chance of bouncing back to the Championship at the first time of asking,” said Rotherham’s chairman, Tony Stewart.
“In Steve and Paul [Raynor, his assistant], we have two individuals that understand the Rotherham United ‘DNA’ and know what it takes to build a successful team. They have a proven track record of success at a plethora of clubs, including our own.”