Sport
Evans: ‘We’re Not Playing Real Madrid or the Harlem Globetrotters’
Rotherham United boss Steve Evans jokingly compared Birmingham City to Real Madrid and Wrexham AFC to the Harlem Globetrotters as he discussed the League One promotion race.
The 61-year-old returned to New York Stadium earlier this year, with the focus on returning to the Championship at the first attempt.
However, the third tier is looking incredibly competitive this season, as Birmingham City have spent an unprecedented amount at this level following their relegation, whilst Wrexham are promotion contenders due to their backing as they continue to rise up the Football League.
| League One Table – as of 12/09/24 | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Wrexham | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 2 | Stockport County | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Barnsley | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | Charlton Athletic | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | Lincoln City | 4 | 4 | 9 |
Steve Evans on Birmingham City and Wrexham
And, speaking to BBC reporter Rob Staton, Evans made it known that the two clubs are expected to be in the mix, as he compared Blues to the European champions and made reference to the Hollywood owners at Wrexham.
“We’ve not played the Real Madrid of League One, we play them a week on Saturday, and we’ve not played the Harlem Globetrotters, which will turn up when Parky brings Wrexham here.
“In all seriousness, we’ll get a measurement after 12 or 14 games. It’s always the situation whether you are League One, Championship or below. You need 12 or 14 games to get an idea because you’ll have played a mix of teams.”
Promotion pressure will be on Birmingham City and Wrexham
Birmingham’s window was incredible, so it goes without saying that they will not only be expected to go up, but to also win the league.
So, there will be pressure on them to win week in, week out, and you can be sure that comments like this will be levelled at the club all season, as they will be a scalp for their rivals.
Meanwhile, the situation isn’t the same at Wrexham as they were in the National League a few years ago, but we know they have spent big over the years, and there are a lot of high-profile players in the squad.
The owners at Wrexham, and their rise up the leagues, also make them a target, and they have started the season very well as they look to make it three promotions on the bounce.
Rotherham United will expect to be in the mix come May
However, whilst Evans may try to portray Rotherham as the underdogs, the reality is that he will feel he has a squad that should be able to compete for promotion.
The Millers have had an indifferent start, picking up five points from five games, but their performances should have resulted in more wins.
The experienced boss is sure to take encouragement from the four points they picked up against Huddersfield and Charlton in their last two, so it does offer something positive to build on moving forward.
As Evans outlines, you start to get a clear picture of the league in ten games’ time, and Rotherham will hope to have climbed the table in that period, with fixtures against Blues and Wrexham in that period.
Rotherham are back in action against Burton on Saturday, whilst Birmingham host Wrexham on Monday night in a TV game.
