Rotherham United v Barnsley FC: Battle-scarred rivals Steve Evans and Darrell Clarke ready for derby combat – but respect will endure
STEVE Evans and Darrell Clarke are two council estate kids who have experienced plenty in life, let alone football.
They find themselves backed into a corner ahead of this particular derby. True to their respective upbringings, the battling instincts of both have kicked in this week and certainly will for an hour-and-a-half or so this afternoon.
Regardless of who wins this contest between Rotherham United and Barnsley – if there is a winner – the respect between both will endure.
Two working-class managers who have been around the block and bear the scars to prove it. It’s a level of respect which cannot be manufactured.
Evans said: “Darrell went through one of the saddest things that ever happened in football with the loss of his daughter.
“I think he’d be the first to say that I was one of the guys who was around him at that time. He needed people to be around him and show strength of character.
“He’s like us (at Rotherham), where when he goes to work now, he’s in a period of form where he needs to be better. We know it needs to be better here and he’s the same.
Back in the summer, most would have expected this particular late-winter derby to have possessed a fair degree of importance at the top end of League One.
In the here and now, it has little following underwhelming seasons for these neighbours on either side of the Dearne Valley.
To the surprise of many, the Millers have languished in the bottom half of the table in 2024-25. They have taken one point from their last four games, while Barnsley’s recent numbers are even worse; no wins in six and a solitary point along the way.
The heat is on both managers, but Clarke has felt it a bit more this week on the back of a derby loss to Huddersfield Town last weekend.
Since arriving at Oakwell last summer, he has regularly spoken about needing two or three windows to build a side in his own image and also consistently referenced the lack of promotion winners in his squad. A nice group who aren’t yet nasty and ruthless enough.
To afford himself the requisite time to do that, you also need the hard currency of enough results along the way.
Clarke continued: “If you look at my previous record as a manager who has had a lot of success, it hasn’t happened overnight and doesn’t.
