RUFC - Evans 'fans will love Hunt'

Rotherham United Manager, Steve Evans says that the signing of Nicky Hunt yesterday is a bit of a coup for the Millers.

Speaking to MillersPlayer, the Millers boss said, 'The boy has played in the Premier League a number of times for Big Sam (Allardyce) at the Reebok and he was a huge signing for Bristol City, although the manager, Stevie Coppell, who signed him left a month later which was a hammer blow for Nicky.

'He's been with Preston North End since January and I've spoken to their gaffer Graham Westley and the Chairman Peter Risdale who both said how high he was on their retain list. But I heard that he was in talks with two League One clubs and, to be honest, I've hi-jacked one of them.

'We've been tracking Nicky and the reports were great and I've seen him twice myself. The supporters will love him. He's wholehearted and he could have gone and taken the League One level quite comfortably. I've sat down with the kid on a few occasions and I've sold the dream of going to the Championship back-to-back to him. He wants to play in a winning team and get promotion again. He wants the feeling of training hard all week and thinking that he's going to play on the Saturday.

Talking about showing the right-back around the New York Stadium, Evans said, 'As we drove up to it, his first words were how similar it is to the Reebok. He like the idea of playing in a facility like that and understands when we say that, with ten or eleven thousand Rotherham United fans in there, that the place is going to be buzzing. He's bought into it all, put pen to paper and is another part of the jigsaw.'

Speaking about competition with Dale Tonge for that right-back position with the Millers, Evans said, 'Tongey is a really good player and if I've got Nicky Hunt sitting by the side of me then it will tell you how well Tongey's playing. We know Tongey will come back here at the beginning of July incredibly fit. I like Tongey and Nicky Hunt knows that so let the challenge begin.'

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