Steve Evans was true to his word when he said he would be
adopting a different policy in the transfer market this summer.
After admitting the error of his ways last summer, when he
brought in a raft of new players, the Millers boss said it would be quality over quantity this time around.
And that has been reflected in the stats, as this year's May and June saw less players come into the club than any other year of Evans' reign.
Mind you, that was not necessarily a tough task as two of his four years saw hefty recruitment drives before July 1, both of which started as soon as the previous season had ended.
In 2012, just a month after being appointed as Andy Scott's successor, Evans tore the Millers squad apart and brought in nine players before the end of June, with plenty more following after the window had officially opened.
Daniel Nardiello, Kayode Odejayi, Ian Sharps, Nicky Hunt, Scott Shearer, Michael O'Connor, Kari Arnason, Lionel Ainsworth and Lawrie Wilson all came into the club as infamous Millers fax machine was getting a good working out.
It proved a worthwhile venture as the Millers won their first promotion since 2001, thanks mainly to five wins on the bounce at the back end of the campaign.
Evans again did plenty of work early on in the 2013 close season as Joe Skarz, Richard Brindley, Adam Collin, David
Worrall, Danny Hylton and Rob Milsom all arrived by July 1.
There was also some more business done before August, and that provided the foundations for one of the best season's in the club's recent history as Evans' side built on their promotion and stormed through League One, culminating in that spine-tingling day at Wembley.
Despite having arguably the best-ever side in the club's history, Evans presided over a major overhaul of the squad in 2014, with a mammoth 11 players coming in before July 1.
Connor Newton, Matt Derbyshire, Scott Loach, Kirk Broadfoot,
Jordan Bowery, Mat Sadler, Richard Wood, Ryan Hall, Frazer Richardson, Febian
Brandy and Paul Green all signed for the Millers before pre-season training had started, with plenty more following.
But after admitting that he was too keen to sign back-up players last season, Evans has taken a different route so far this summer and that fax machine has had a relaxing couple of months.
Only Aidy White, Joe Mattock and Lewis Buxton were new faces for the club's first day of pre-season training on Tuesday - a stark contrast to previous years.
But with Evans saying he still wants five or six more signings, it looks like being a busy July and August. Fire up the fax machine.
