Evans plots hammer blow for old pal Moyes
Fiery Gillingham manager is ready to upset the odds with West Ham’s visit to Priestfield, writes Sam Dean
In the final hour before every match, Steve Evans and his assistant take a teamsheet up to his office along with a pad of paper. They write out their 11 players, in formation, and then do the same for the opposition before asking themselves: “If my owners bought the opposition club tomorrow, how many of their players would start for me?”
It is an old trick he was taught by Sir Alex Ferguson, who once told Evans he would carry out the same exercise ahead of every Manchester United game. If none of the opposition players would make Ferguson’s team, he knew his side would win, provided they played properly. On other days, against elite opposition, four or five might get in, and then it was game on.
“We still do that today,” says Evans, now leading Gillingham in League One after more than two decades of managerial successes, struggles and controversies. “Paul [Raynor] will come into my office and we will write down the formations. We know the answer for Sunday; all of them would play for us. That is how difficult the task is.”
By “them”, Evans means West Ham United, the Premier League opponents who arrive at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium knowing they are in danger of becoming a major casualty of the third round. David Moyes will be aware of the size of the challenge for his side, and that Evans – who has overseen a seven-game unbeaten run – will love nothing more than defeating his old mate in front of the television cameras.
The friendship between Moyes and Evans dates back to their childhood: born six months apart in Glasgow, they both joined Celtic Boys Club when they were 10. Moyes also played alongside Raynor at Preston North End, with Raynor telling The Sunday Telegraph the story of how he had unceremoniously relocated Moyes’s kit to the staff changing room once the Scot had joined the “dark side” by becoming a player-coach.
In this form, Evans makes for terrific company. Animated, talkative, generous with his time. It is quite a contrast with the public perception of the 57-year-old, who has long been regarded as one of the most disliked managers in football. When it became clear Evans was a candidate for the Gillingham job in May, some fans even threatened a boycott.
“I have always had it,” he says. “I went into Leeds and the Leeds fans said they did not want Evans. I have now got a wonderful affinity with Leeds supporters. When I went into Rotherham it was the same, because when I was at Crawley we always beat them. I had to prove myself again, and I did. Even if I took Gillingham into the Championship and the Premier League and got sacked, some fans of League One clubs would still say they are not sure they want me.”
Given his record of six promotions, the obvious question is why there is so much lip-curling at the mention of his name. The answer is found in Evans’s chequered CV. Known for his exuberance (that is the diplomatic word for it) on the touchline, he has had more brushes with authority than most of Priestfield’s stands have had brushes of paint.
In 2006, he received a suspended jail sentence for his role in the tax fraud that helped to fuel success at Boston United. In 2012 he was given a six-match stadium ban while in charge of Rotherham for using abusive and insulting words and behaviour with a reference to gender.
In 2018, at Peterborough, he became the first manager to be banned from the touchline after receiving four yellow cards for misconduct.
Evans says he has calmed down in recent years, while he also does not think his unpopularity is a result of events at Boston. “That was 20 years ago,” he says. “Some people who talk about that now were not even born then.
“I just think I have been animated over the years. You know what it is like, when you see someone fighting against you, passionately and verbally, appealing for decisions and moaning. I have accepted it is the way it is.
“My dad has been dead for 30 years now and his last words to me, in front of me and my mum, were: ‘Let me tell you son, if they do not know you, they do not like you. But if they know you, they will fall in love with you.’ It is a