Stephen James Evans (born 30 October 1962) is a Scottish professional
football manager
''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...
and former
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
who was most recently the manager of
EFL League One
The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
club
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Evans played professional football for
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
,
Clyde,
Albion Rovers,
Ayr United,
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...
and
St Johnstone until a
knee ligament injury ended his playing career at 24.
After his retirement he became a manager. Prior to taking charge at
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
, he managed
Stamford and
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The club is known as 'the ...
, the latter on two occasions.
A controversial figure, whilst manager of Boston United he was successfully prosecuted for tax evasion.
However, in charge of
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
, he led the club to two successive promotions. He left the club in late September 2015. On 19 October 2015, Evans replaced
Uwe Rösler as head coach of
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
, before being sacked in May 2016.
Early life
Born in Glasgow, Scotland,
Evans was spotted by scouts from English team
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
when playing for his local youth football club in Glasgow,
and he joined Bolton after leaving school.
Playing career
Evans failed to break into the
first team at Bolton and was released in 1979. He then returned to his native Scotland and joined
Clyde, where he played in 36 league matches, scoring four goals, before joining
Albion Rovers in 1981, where he scored 28 goals in 76 league matches during three years at
Cliftonhill
Cliftonhill Stadium, commonly known as Cliftonhill and currently 'The Reigart Stadium' for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of former Scottish Professional Football Le ...
. He subsequently moved to
Ayr United in 1984, scoring four goals in 30 matches, and to
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...
in 1985, where he only played in two league matches. He joined
St Johnstone in 1985 and scored six goals in 24 matches before a
knee ligament injury ended his playing career in 1986, aged 24.
Managerial career
Stamford
Evans fell out of football following his retirement, and was working in sales for
Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
, when he became manager at Peterborough League side Gedney Hill. He soon moved to
Holbeach United for eighteen months, before briefly becoming chairman at
Corby Town. His managerial career got going in earnest with
Stamford in 1994,
who he led to the
United Counties Football League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of northern Bedfordshire, northern Buckinghamshire, m ...
Premier Division title and to
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to the
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
.
Boston United
After resigning as Stamford manager he was appointed manager of
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The club is known as 'the ...
in October 1998.
He managed Boston to promotion from the Southern Football League to the
Football Conference
The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
in 2000 and subsequently to
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
in 2002. Both promotions have since been overshadowed by revelations of off-the-field cheating.
Evans was suspended by Boston as manager on 4 July 2002 after a much-publicised
Football Association
A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
(The FA) investigation into "contract irregularities".
He later resigned as manager of the club in September 2002, after still being suspended by the club.
He was found guilty by The FA in December 2002 of impeding an FA inquiry into contract irregularities.
Evans was also suspended from the game for 20 months in January 2003 for involvement of the affairs of Boston,
in which players' contracts lodged with the FA contained false salary details.
Evans was further accused of impeding the inquiry and fined £8,000.
Evans lodged an appeal against charges in May 2003,
but The FA rejected his appeal later that month and the punishment stood.
Evans later pleaded guilty in court to conspiring to cheat the public revenue, and was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
An announcement was made on 20 February 2004 that Evans would return as Boston's manager on 2 March.
In September 2005, Evans and four other people connected with Boston appeared in court, denying fraud charges.
In November 2005, Evans was given a £1,000 fine, suspended for a year, after admitting to using insulting or abusive words to the match official in a match against
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Peterborough United formed in ...
in October 2005.
On 11 February 2006, he was escorted from
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
's stadium
Blundell Park by
Humberside Police
Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the East Riding of Yorkshire, including Kingston upon Hull, and northern parts of Lincolnshire, including Grimsby and Scunthorpe.
History
Humberside Police was created ...
at
half-time
In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
, after he berated the fourth official after being incensed when Grimsby goalkeeper
Steve Mildenhall appeared to handle the ball outside his area and was immediately spoken to by a police officer after a complaint of alleged foul and abusive language. After the match Boston chairman Jon Sotnick accused the football authorities of waging a "conspiracy" against his manager.
In October 2006, Evans was linked with the vacant
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
managerial vacancy, but Boston chairman
James Rodwell and Evans both denied the link.
Also in October, Evans was sent from the dugout after an altercation with
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 188 ...
player
Tommy Doherty
Thomas Edward Doherty (born 17 March 1979 in Bristol) is a Northern Ireland former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made nine appearances for the Northern Ireland national team.
Club career
Doherty started his career at ...
for which he later received a £1,000 suspended fine from the FA.
Despite this, which came on top of his conviction for tax evasion, Evans kept his manager's position at Boston, a decision that angered the
Boston United Supporters' Trust.
In March 2007, Evans was left with only 11 professional footballers for the relegation clash with
Bury.
Although players were back from suspension, Evans was left frustrated after players such as
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
's on-
loan
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
striker
Nathan Joynes quit the club, which left him with just 12 fit senior players and he was forced to put 16- and 17-year-olds on an incomplete
substitute's bench.
After drawing 1–1 in their penultimate match of the season against relegated
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
,
Boston needed a win against relegation rivals
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
on 5 May 2007 to avoid the drop out of league football.
Francis Green gave Boston a 1–0 half-time lead, but in the second half United conceded a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
, which Wrexham defender
Ryan Valentine converted. Two late goals from
Chris Llewellyn and
Michael Proctor gave Wrexham a 3–1 victory to ensure their survival.
On 8 May 2007, Evans pledged his commitment to the club despite their relegation and return to
non-League football
Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
.
However, on 27 May, Evans and his assistant manager
Paul Raynor
Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Gilli ...
resigned from Boston with immediate effect.
Evans's two occasions as manager combined at Boston made him the club's second-longest-serving manager behind
Fred Tunstall
Fred Tunstall (28 May 1897 – 21 July 1971) was an English football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, fo ...
, who had three occasions as manager of the club in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
He managed the team on 354 occasions, which resulted in 145 wins, 99 draws and 110 losses.
Crawley Town
On 29 May 2007, two days after resigning from Boston, Evans took over as
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
manager.
He has been sent from the dugout numerous times, which resulted in a ten match ban during the
2008–09 season. He verbally accepted a new three-year contract with Crawley in February 2011.
During the 2010–11 season, Crawley reached the
fifth round
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth Avenue
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a cont ...
of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, beating
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded as Swindon A ...
of League One,
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
of the Championship and
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
of League Two. In the fifth round they were drawn against
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
. Crawley lost this match 1–0 but earned over £1 million for this match alone. Evans stated afterwards "I think we have done our football club proud and we wanted to go away with some respect" and "We have had a fantastic run in the competition and we could not have wished it to finish anywhere else". On 9 April 2011 Crawley clinched promotion to
Football League Two
The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...
for the
2011–12 season. Evans and striker
Tyrone Barnett were nominated for League Two Player of the Month and Manager of the Month for August but lost out to
Andy Scott and
Mark Arber respectively. Despite this, Evans was named October Manager of the Month after achieving five wins, including a 5–2 away victory at AFC Wimbledon, strengthening their push for a second consecutive promotion.
Rotherham United
Evans left Crawley on 9 April 2012 to be appointed manager of fellow League Two club
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
on a three-year contract.
In September 2012, Evans was given a six-match stadium ban and fined £3,000 by the Football Association after being found guilty of "using abusive and insulting words and behaviour" towards a female member of Bradford City's staff, an incident which occurred during his time at Crawley.
In his first full season at the club, Rotherham showed inconsistent form throughout, but a run of 5 wins in their last 5 games saw them elevate into the automatic promotion places, finishing second behind champions
Gillingham, after a 2–0 win over
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The club was founded in the spr ...
saw Rotherham promoted on the final day.
Starting the following season in
League One, Evans continued to produce good results, an honorable mention being the 6–0 win at home against Notts County. Rotherham were promoted later that season in May 2014, drawing the
play-off final 2–2 over 120 minutes, and subsequently beating
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
4–3 in a penalty shootout.
On 29 May 2014, Evans agreed a new three-year contract with Rotherham, live on
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Group, Sky, a division of Comcast.
History
Sky Sports first started broadcasting sports news bulletins when it began broadcasting the Premi ...
, a deal which would commit him to the club until 2017.
Under his management Rotherham survived their first season back in the Championship, with a game to spare. Evans wore a sombrero, shorts and sandals to the fixture against
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
at
Elland Road
Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
on the final day of the season by way of a celebration.
On 28 September 2015, Evans and his assistant manager Paul Raynor left Rotherham with the club citing that the two parties wanted to take the club in different directions. He was replaced as manager on 9 October by former Leeds Head Coach
Neil Redfearn
Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Farsley Celtic.
Redfearn, a midfielder, played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest total of all time, ...
.
Leeds United
On 19 October 2015, Evans joined fellow Championship side
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
on a rolling contract until the end of the 2015–16 season, with the option of a second year, replacing previous head coach
Uwe Rösler. Evans's assistant at Rotherham,
Paul Raynor
Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Gilli ...
, also joined him as part of the coaching staff.
Evans took charge of a Leeds side one point off the relegation zone, however, he managed to guide Leeds to a 13th-place finish at the end of the 2015–16 season with Leeds finishing 15 points behind the playoff positions. He also gave débuts to 3 academy graduates during the season with
Lewie Coyle,
Bailey Peacock-Farrell and
Ronaldo Vieira all making their débuts under Evans during his tenure. Evans also helped Leeds have an FA Cup run, however his side were knocked out on 20 February 2016 against Premier League side
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
in a narrow 1–0 defeat after a high-profile own goal from Leeds defender
Scott Wootton to send Watford through to the FA Cup quarter-final.
After the final game of the 2015–16 season against
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
, a tearful Evans proclaimed that he had a 'gut feeling' that his contract would not be renewed by club owner
Massimo Cellino
Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...
. At the end of the season Cellino approached
MK Dons manager
Karl Robinson
Karl Joseph Robinson (born 13 September 1980) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player. He is currently head coach of club Salford City F.C., Salford City.
Robinson be ...
and
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
manager
Darrell Clarke
Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played in the English Football League. He is the head coach of club Bristol Rovers ...
to replace Evans, but neither accepted. Evans, along with his assistant
Paul Raynor
Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Gilli ...
, was sacked on 31 May.
The following month he accepted personal terms to become manager at
League One side
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
, but then turned the post down.
Mansfield Town
Evans was appointed manager of
League Two side
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system.
The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
on 16 November 2016, replacing
Adam Murray. He resigned on 27 February 2018, saying he wanted to go and work in China.
Peterborough United
Evans was appointed manager of
League One side
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Peterborough United formed in ...
on 28 February 2018, one day after leaving Mansfield. On 23 January 2019 he was charged by the FA over comments made to a match official during a defeat against
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
, and then on the 26th both he and assistant
Paul Raynor
Paul James Raynor (born 29 April 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has worked as assistant manager under Steve Evans at Rotherham United, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Gilli ...
were released from their contracts, with
Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of League One club Peterborough United, in his fourth stint as manager of the club. In between his stints with Peterborou ...
taking charge just hours later.
Gillingham
On 21 May 2019, Evans was announced as the new manager of
Gillingham and began his role on 1 June 2019. Evans was awarded the
League One Manager of the Month award for March 2021 after achieving 17 points from a possible 24.
In August 2021, Evans started the
2020–21 season by being awarded a yellow card in the first match against
Lincoln City, and then a red card in the next game, a
EFL Cup
The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England.
Orga ...
fixture against Crawley Town. He was then once again charged with verbally abusing a match official.
On 9 January 2022, following a 4–0 home defeat to
Ipswich Town that left the side 22nd in the table, seven points from safety, Evans was sacked by the club.
Stevenage
Evans was appointed as manager of League Two club
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...
on 16 March 2022, the club sitting in 22nd position just three points clear of the relegation zone with the team below having two games in hand.
Survival was secured with three matches remaining after a run of ten points across Evans's first six matches, culminating in a 2–0 home win over
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
, saw his side move seven points clear of
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
who were relegated at Stevenage's expense. Evans's 2022–23 campaign started strongly with 10 victories out of 13 in the League, resulting in Stevenage sitting top of the league on 8 October 2022. In an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
third-round tie at
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
side
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
, Evans's side came from behind to win 2–1 at
Villa Park
Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
. A 2–0 win against
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
, on 29 April 2023, confirmed Stevenage's promotion to League One. On 5 May 2023 Evans was named the League Two Manager of the Month of April after guiding the team through eight games in the month with only one defeat.
Following an impressive
first season after promotion that saw Stevenage in a race for the play-offs, Evans was nominated for League One Manager of the Year, ultimately losing out to
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
manager
John Mousinho. He left the club in April 2024 having won 57 of his 120 matches with the club.
Rotherham United
On 17 April 2024, Evans returned to already relegated Championship club Rotherham United on a three-year deal.
On 29 March 2025, Evans was sacked following a 4–0 home defeat to
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
with the Millers sitting 16th in
EFL League One
The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
, 9 points clear of the relegation zone.
Personal life
As of 2004, Evans was married to Sarah-Jane and had two daughters.
He is a supporter of Scottish club
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
.
Managerial statistics
Honours
As a manager
Stamford
*
United Counties League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an England, English association football, football league covering an area including the English Counties of the United Kingdom, ...
Premier Division: 1996–97,
1997–98
Boston United
*
Football Conference
The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
:
2001–02
*
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
Premier Division:
1999–2000
Crawley Town
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Conference Premier
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...
:
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Rotherham United
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Football League One play-offs
The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...
:
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
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Football League Two
The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...
second-place promotion:
2012–13
Stevenage
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Football League Two
The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...
second-place promotion:
2022–23
Individual
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Football League/EFL League One Manager of the Month: August 2018,
March 2021
*
Football League/EFL League Two Manager of the Month:
October 2011,
April 2023
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Steve
1962 births
Living people
Footballers from Glasgow
Scottish men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Clyde F.C. players
Albion Rovers F.C. players
Ayr United F.C. players
Hamilton Academical F.C. players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
Scottish football managers
Stamford A.F.C. managers
Boston United F.C. managers
Crawley Town F.C. managers
Rotherham United F.C. managers
Leeds United F.C. managers
Mansfield Town F.C. managers
Peterborough United F.C. managers
Gillingham F.C. managers
Stevenage F.C. managers
English Football League managers
National League (English football) managers
Southern Football League managers
British people convicted of tax crimes
British football chairmen and investors