The Steve Evans guide to surviving as a manager in the Championship

Rotherham boss Steve Evans is in a unique position – he’s the only manager of any club in the bottom half of the Championship to have been there since the start of the season.

Fifteen of the 24 clubs in the division have changed their boss since the start of the campaign – including every club in the bottom 12 except the Millers.

Some – Leeds and Watford – have not stopped at one dismissal as they are on their third and fourth managerial appointments of the season respectively while even a promotion challenge from Brentford, who only came up from League One last year, will not be enough to save Mark Warburton in the summer.

That man Steve Evans he's keeping us up 😊 #utm #loveawaydays pic.twitter.com/DUXmOCInfF

— ***theblondefilly*** (@blondeyfilly) March 7, 2015

The Millers, who were promoted with the Bees and Wolves last season, have been embroiled in a relegation battle all year, at one point going nine games without a win and more than three months without a home victory. The club look to have been rewarded with safety as they currently sit nine points clear of the drop zone with ten games left to play.

Jonathan Veal spoke to Evans to see what he thinks the keys are to staying in a job.

1. Maintaining a healthy relationship with the chairman

Evans has described his chairman Tony Stewart as “one of his best friends in life” and the pair have a strong working relationship too. The Millers boss has been backed to the hilt by Stewart, who has sanctioned the arrival of 29 players since the summer and with the success Evans has brought to the club he knows his position is unlikely to ever come under threat.

“I’m fortunate to work for such a good man, I’m fortunate that I spend time with him most days and I am fortunate we have shared this journey together for two and a half years,” Evans said. “Our relationship hasn’t been any different in the Championship from what it was in League Two.

“If things aren’t right I share it with the chairman, I have no secrets from him.”

How not to do it:

There have been plenty of managers who have not been so lucky this season, none more so than former Blackpool boss Jose Riga who had a fractured relationship with Karl Oyston and publicly criticised him, while Billy McKinlay was told his face did not fit by Watford’s owners despite taking four points from his two games.

2. Managing expectations

With Rotherham just one of six clubs in the Championship this season who have never tasted Premier League action it is no surprise that they have been in a relegation battle, particularly given their quick rise from League Two. But every football fan dares to dream and some Millers fans saw Bournemouth’s impressive maiden campaign in the second tier last year as a potential blueprint for success. But Evans has always maintained exactly how tough his side would find it this year and has been keen to let everybody know.

“Every manager of a football club earns the right for a chairman to be loyal to him and respect him,” Evans said. “You also earn the right for a chairman to know what’s realistic to achieve with the resources available.

“Our chairman is incredibly ambitious, but you have to park that sometimes when you look at the resources available to us against that of other teams. Against Cardiff they had one player on the pitch who earns more than all of our players, which shows you how tough it is.”

How not to do it:

“People have an expectation. We all want to finish first. When you kick-off in August you have to believe that you can have that magical season but the real expectations are set in the boardroom. Look at Brighton, they probably have one of the biggest resources in the division, they can’t be sat in the bottom six of the Championship. Yet we are level on points with them, maybe that’s why their manager (Sami Hyypia) was sacked.”

3. Keep the points total ticking over

One of Evans’ buzz phrases this season has been “accumulating points” and the Millers have been pretty good at that. Despite their overall struggles, they have never lost more than two games in a row in the league and that has stopped them ever getting in a rut.

Even during their longest winless run of the season – nine games – they drew six of them so they were never in danger of getting cut adrift.

On keeping the board ticking over, Evans said: “In our bad run, we drew a lot of them. We were playing well without getting the points. We have not been in a situation where the chairman has rang me up and expressed concern at a result or performance. A point in the Championship is a good day. It’s only a very good day if you get all three.”

How not to do it:

Many of the managers who have been sacked this term have paid the price for a losing streak, with Ian Holloway recently losing his job for a run of four defeats from five games.

4. Smells like team spirit

Much of Rotherham’s success over the last few years has been built on team spirit and that has been prevalent again this season. Although there has been a high turnover of players Evans always ensures that whoever takes the field is pulling in the same direction and will give everything to the cause.

Evans said: “When you talk about team spirit for the last three seasons, ours has been fantastic. We are all fighting for the same cause, we want to be in the Championship next season and that’s so important.”

How not to do it:

A disruptive squad can lead to the downfall of a manager as Beppe Sannino at Watford found out earlier in the season. There was severe unrest in the camp under his leadership at Vicarage Road, with rumours of player revolt, and he left the club after just seven games.

Source: SNAPPA

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