Jonson Clarke-Harris’ Rotherham career was over until his
recent up-turn in form, says boss Steve Evans.
The 21-year-old striker, who is the Millers’ club-record
transfer, has impressed in his last three appearances having previously been
left out of the matchday squad.
He produced an impressive cameo against Preston last week,
before notching his first Millers goal since Boxing Day at QPR on Saturday and
being a menace throughout Tuesday’s Capital One Cup defeat to Norwich on Tuesday.
The former Oldham man is finally beginning to live up to the
potential that saw Evans pay £400,000 last August and it came in the nick of
time.
“He has
been great again, he was tired as you would expect for a young man who has played
90 minutes at the weekend,” Evans said of his display against Norwich.
“I like
Jonson Clarke-Harris as a player but I have just reminded him that if he drops
it he's out.
“But
playing like that he is a top player in the Championship, but he has to come in
and work hard and be committed and he knows that now.
“We're
covering old ground here, since we had a chat 10 days ago where he came in the
office and had a cup of tea and a digestive.
“He made it
clear that we were going to see a Jonson Clarke-Harris that wanted to earn the
right to be here because he was on his way out.”
Ben Pringle,
who will come up against his former team-mate when Fulham visit New York on
Saturday, believes Clarke-Harris needs a good run of games in the side.
“He is a presence, when he
comes on or when he is playing you know what you are going to get from him,” he
said.
“He will always give a 100 per
cent, he is going to unsettle defenders and give them a hard time.
“He’s a big lad, he’s strong
and he’s quick and when you see some of his goals his technique is good.
“He’s just needs a run of
games I would say to find his feet, he was stop-start last season, like a
number of other players, but if you said to him he was going to play 20 games
in a row he will do well.”
