Steve Evans sacked by Rotherham after 4-0 home defeat to Crawley

Steve Evans has been sacked as manager of Rotherham after Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat to Crawley, the League One club have announced.

“Rotherham can confirm that, following a meeting between the chairman and manager this morning, the club have parted company with first team manager Steve Evans together with Paul Raynor, Gary Mills and Ian Pledger, with immediate effect,” a club statement said.

“Steve was reappointed in April last year, taking charge of 50 games in all competitions during his most recent tenure,” the statement added. “Everyone at Rotherham United would like to thank Steve, Paul and their coaching team for all their efforts and wish them well in their future endeavours.”

The club have confirmed that Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington will take charge of the first team, who face fellow strugglers Northampton on Tuesday night, for the remainder of the season.

The 62-year-old returned to the Millers for a second spell at the end of last season, replacing Leam Richardson, but was unable to prevent their relegation from the Championship. Evans has failed to mount a promotion charge in the third tier, with the team dropping to 16th place, nine points above the relegation zone.

Saturday’s heavy defeat to relegation-threatened opponents at the New York Stadium proved to be the last straw, with the Brighton loanee Kamari Doyle striking twice before late goals from Gavan Holohan and Panutche Camará. It was Rotherham’s 17th league defeat of the season, and extended a run of one point in four matches.

“There’s no hiding place when you have a performance like that,” Evans told BBC Radio Sheffield after the game, which saw some home fans call for his departure.

“I think this is as low as it’s been in 31 years as a manager,” Evans continued. “Maybe my credit’s run out. I’ve had fantastic times at this club and, if the decision is made to remove me, I’ll be back in the future as a fan.”

Evans’s first spell with Rotherham lasted from April 2012 to September 2015, leading the South Yorkshire side from League Two to the Championship after joining from Crawley. The Scot has also managed Leeds, Mansfield, Gillingham, Peterborough and Stevenage in his career.