The Millers suffered a derby defeat on Friday night, losing 2-0 to Barnsley. Manager Steve Evans has come in for plenty of criticism, with a portion of the fanbase wanting the Scot to be axed.
And it appears some of the Rotherham faithful already have his successor in mind. Richard Wood, now captain of Doncaster Rovers, ended his long association with the Millers when he swapped one part of South Yorkshire for DN4 in the summer of 2023. Wood spent just shy of a decade at the New York Stadium and was a firm fans’ favourite. This summer his old club staged a special testimonial for Wood with a fixture against Rovers, with a good turnout and fine reception on the day.
It’s clear how much fans of his former club admire him. And over the weekend, a second United fan made the bold call of wanting to parachute Wood in as Evans’ replacement—despite the fact he is still very much a part of Grant McCann’s playing squad.
After another supporter made the suggestion last week, Paul, a fellow Millers fan, rang up BBC Radio Sheffield’s Praise or Grumble on Saturday night and said, “Steve Evans is a very deluded man, isn’t he? Barnsley had chance after chance. They outplayed us. Somebody made a great shout the other night for Woody to come back as manager.”
When presenter Adam Oxley challenged him on that, offering up Evans’ achievements compared to the fact Wood has yet to embark on a coaching career, Paul responded: “Yes, absolutely. Other managers have done it before, haven’t they? Evans has got to go. He hasn’t got the camp and rolled out all his usual lines.”
Wood, aged 39, is under contract at Rovers until the end of the season. He is currently recovering from ankle surgery. He actually played on with a fractured ankle through pre-season, but after just two games of the campaign, he went under the knife and is nearing a first-team return.
Speaking ahead of the aforementioned testimonial in the summer, Wood spoke about his love affair with Rotherham saying, “I can’t wait to come back as a fan when I have hung up my boots.”
