New Leeds boss Steve Evans
has claimed Rotherham would not have got relegated in the next 10 years if he
had stayed at the club.
The football world was sent
into shock on Monday when Evans was appointed into the Elland Road hotseat
following the sacking of Uwe Rosler.
The Scot, who took the Millers from League Two to Championship safety in three years, was out of work
for less than a month following his surprise exit from the South Yorkshire side
at the end of September.
He left on the back of
successive wins and with the club out of the drop zone in the Championship after a difficult start.
And Evans insists relegation
would not have been an issue as long as he remained at the New York Stadium
helm.
“I’ve got a track record that
says whatever we do wins football matches,” Evans said at his unveiling as
Leeds’ new manager.
“With the lowest budget Rotherham,
under me, would never have got relegated.
“You could have put the
kettle on for 10 years, it would never have happened.”
Despite his success as a
manager wherever he has been, Evans struggles to hold a positive reputation
with opposition fans.
Part of the reason may be to
do with his comments in the media, where the Scot often makes disparaging
comments about other clubs or referees.
And he hinted that was a
deliberate ploy at the Millers to be able to allow his players to focus on
winning games.
GALLERY | Photos from Elland Road as Steve Evans is unveiled to the media: https://t.co/eHbyhk5sWW #lufc pic.twitter.com/BsyQGVSPO7— Leeds United FC (@LUFC) October 20, 2015
“You have to be able to
manage big occasions,” he said. “I was fortunate at Rotherham United
that when big occasions came we normally won the football match.
“That was because we kept
things normal, we kept things the same, we took the pressure off the players.
“I might come out and make a
silly statement two days before a game and the focus will be on that silly
statement and my players can concentrate on playing.
“I will try not to do it too
regularly (at Leeds) because it is too big a club to do it now.
“Steve Evans will be a
manager that opposition fans and players won’t like because I am so passionate,
as Rotherham fans found out for the club I love and the club I give my life to.
“I gave three and a half
years to Rotherham United and I am very proud of that association and I will
love that club until Neil brings them up here in a few weeks.
“I want to leave Leeds United
with the same affinity.
“Some of the top managers in
British football have been in touch in the last 24 hours and said don’t change,
be yourself because that is what has given you the winning record you have got.”
