Exclusive: "He knows how to win" - Sky Sports pundit backs Rotherham United to make Steve Evans call | OneFootball

The Millers have endured a disappointing first season back in League One

Lee Hendrie believes that Steve Evans can take Rotherham United forward amid split opinions on the Scot from supporters at the New York Stadium.

The Millers had previously been one of League One's most dominant forces, having won promotion from the division four times since the 2013/14 season, where Evans guided the club to back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship.

Despite the standard of the third tier being extremely competitive and high this season, such is the stature of many teams vying for promotion to the second tier, Rotherham have failed to mount a serious bid for the play-offs at a minimum, currently residing in 14th place - 16 points behind Huddersfield Town in sixth.

Regardless, the South Yorkshire side have plenty of experience, quality and squad depth to call upon within their ranks, such as Jonson Clarke-Harris, Mallik Wilks, Joe Powell, Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu and Dillon Phillips among others.

Ultimately, a season plagued with inconsistency has led to mixed opinions on whether Evans is the right man to take the club back to its former position, with the 62-year-old's contract running for another two seasons at present. FLW's Rotherham fan pundit Tom Eyre wants the hierarchy to replace the Scotsman with Michael Duff, but does ex-Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie agree?

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former Aston Villa and Sheffield United midfielder Hendrie understands why there is a split among the fanbase regarding whether the former Leeds United boss can make Rotherham one of the division's top sides once more, but believes he will be able to do just that.

He began: "Steve Evans at Rotherham, well, can he take the club forward?"

"He's like marmite, and I think, that's why there is a divide and a diverse (opinion from the fans) on what he does and how he does things."

"I've always liked Steve Evans," Hendrie stated. "He's known for what he does, it is what it says on the jar, really, with Steve."

"He can be defensive, he knows how to win football matches."

"I do think he can take the club forward, I really do," the 47-year-old claimed.

"He's a great character in football. But, as we know, the fans have always got a big decision and a big call on things."

"I do feel he can take the club forward," Hendrie concluded.

In the midst of pressure from sections of the fanbase, the man who has overseen 221 matches in the dugout at the New York Stadium across two spells of differing fortunes thus far, has made it clear that from his viewpoint, the club is heading in the right direction within its current 'rebuilding job'.

“We're more than 50 per cent of the way there,” the Glaswegian said via the Rotherham Advertiser. “We've got a lot of good players here, a lot of good characters.”

The Rotherham boss also believes the club's current predicament has also provided him with his toughest managerial remit to date.

“The chairman and vice-chairman, they know the circumstances in which I took over here," Evans added. “They knew probably, with experience, how much more difficult it would be than I thought."

“I thought I could just come in and turn the oil tanker around. It's taking time, perhaps too much time. It's the biggest challenge I've ever taken on.”

At this point of the season, the Reds couldn't mount a realistic, late surge for the top six with nine matches remaining, and despite being only nine points above the relegation zone, Burton Albion would have to bridge the current six-point gap between themselves and Bristol Rovers before other sides start to feel the heat.

With Evans spelling out his future plans, supporters will feel they must see a momentum shift which can be taken into the early weeks of the 2025/26 campaign, with a run of two wins in the last 10 games giving very little cause for optimism in this part of Yorkshire.