Evans ‘We Learned A Lot Today’

Rotherham United Manager Steve Evans said that the Millers friendly game against Sheffield United yesterday was ‘a game of two halves’.

Speaking to the Official Site the Millers Boss said, ‘Firstly credit to Chris (Wilder) who said before the game that they were as strong as they could be and they looked it in the first half where we looked a little bit weary, a bit scared and a new team who’d just been put together. It’s a real class side Chris has got and we’re grateful for Sheffield United for coming.

‘We changed that a bit at half-time to be more solid, getting on the ball more, have more of the ball and I think we did that. We played the formation we played in the second half in mid-week and it was very good in spells. I think it gave us a foothold on the game and in the second half it was probably a bit harsh on us to concede right at the end but if you make a big error you’re going to concede a goal.

‘There were some harsh words from me at half-time that shouldn’t have to be the case in pre-season but there’s never a good time to say them. I want to be honest with them and there’s one or two players that markably stepped up in the second half. And there were some players who were on the top of their game and (Joe) Rafferty and (Sean) Raggett could play in Chris’s Sheffield United team. And there were others who did well today.

‘Our goal came from a great cross and it was a brilliant finish from Joe (Hungbo)

‘But this was the type of opposition we want to play because I believe we’ll learn a lot more from these games than the four or five games we’ve already played. We have learned a lot today.’