RUFC - Evans Feels Fortunate Chairman Chose Him

Rotherham United Manager, Steve Evans held his first press conference this lunchtime and said that it was a really difficult decision he had to make to leave Crawley Town and join the Millers.

'I left a very good football club to join something that can become and exceptional football club.

'The Chairman has invested and continues to invest a huge sum of money. They`ve got a fantastic new stadium with an outstanding training ground and another one on the horizon. Overall the Ferrari had the key in it and it was waiting to be driven and I feel very fortunate that the Chairman has chosen me in front of a number of outstanding potential managers who wanted to work for him.`

Asked how he had sold himself to Chairman, Tony Stewart, Evans carried on, 'I think you have to conduct yourself in a way the Chairman wants you to be his manager. I think if I`d have put the statistics board up behind me, he`d have wanted me, but it`s not all about statistics. The Chairman needs a winning manager, especially with the new stadium coming and we talked about the pride we have in the performances as a team and about the type of players we want to recruit and the style we are aiming to play.`

He was also asked if his past was talked about and Evans said, 'The Chairman was the first to say you`ve made a mistake but it`s fair to say you`ve paid a heavy price, which I did.`

Asked about what he would bring to Rotherham United, the forty-nine year old said, 'I will bring winning football to Rotherham United and promotion will be in there somewhere. The Chairman is going to have a manager who works morning 'til night and I will also demand that of my management team and we will demand high standards from our players. So you will be getting a manager who gives everything he has.

'As a manager you have to live on the edge of your seat. The Chairman hasn`t actually spoke about promotion to me. He`s talked about building blocks and it being like a house, if you get the foundation right and you build the blocks right on top of it then success will happen.

Saying that the Chairman had promised to back him, Evans said, 'I never thought that a Chairman and his Board of Directors would build a stadium like they have and not back it on the pitch. All the way through the process of interviews the Chairman and the other directors spoke about how important it was to have a winning team and playing a brand of football that excites the public. And, another factor was that the football club are going home and the stadium is a wonderful platform for the players. It`s a fantastic facility and you can understand why the Rotherham United fans are so excited and we hope we can do the stadium justice.`

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