Bristol Rovers have turned to Steve Evans in a bid to arrest a steep decline, appointing the 63-year-old as head coach until the end of the season after a damaging run of results.
From a Lincoln City perspective, it is a familiar League One, and now League Two, storyline, an experienced operator brought in to stabilise a club that has lost direction and confidence.
Bristol Rovers turn to experience
Rovers confirmed Evans’ appointment with the club, sitting 23rd in League Two following ten consecutive league defeats under Darrell Clarke. The decision brings an end to Clarke’s second spell in charge and hands the task of survival to one of the most recognisable and divisive managers in the EFL.
Evans returns to the dugout after being sacked by Rotherham United in March 2025, the end of his second spell with the Millers. His career record is extensive. Across multiple clubs, he has delivered nine promotions, most notably guiding Rotherham from League Two to the Championship and, more recently, leading Stevenage to promotion from League Two in 2022-23, before jumping ship to Rotherham and failing.
Immediate challenge acknowledged
Speaking after his appointment, Evans made clear he understands the scale of the task in front of him.
“It’s fantastic to be here at Bristol Rovers. I have had a seven or eight-month break, and I was delighted to receive the call from Ricky Martin to come and meet him and the owners.
“During those chats, it became very clear and obvious that I wanted to take the job. Bristol Rovers is a club that is very traditional. Every time I have brought teams here, I have always said it’s a really difficult place to come.
“It’s a huge club, but I’m very mindful of the immediate challenge and I’m looking forward to getting down to work.”
As has so often been the case, Evans will be joined by Paul Raynor as assistant head coach. Raynor, who once had a brief loan spell at Bristol Rovers as a player in 1984, has been Evans’ long-term lieutenant and sidekick across the majority of his managerial career. Imagine, Joey Barton, and now Steve Evans…..
Context from a Lincoln City viewpoint
For Lincoln City supporters, Evans is a well-known quantity, an arch-enemy, one might say. Right back to his time at Boston, he was getting our backs up. His indiscretion at Boston is well documented, but his comments about John Schofield being an ‘armchair scout’ when we signed Dany N’Guessan and Lee Beevers started the rot.
Every time he pops up, there is controversy. He famously clashed with Danny Cowley: the roots of the dispute trace back to when Evans was in charge at Mansfield. Evans accused the Imps of gamesmanship, and matters escalated after the final whistle of one game. Evans claimed Cowley had flicked water at him during the exchange, while reports at the time described Evans using heavy language and advancing towards the Lincoln technical area.
There was his famous clash with Michael Appleton, where he backed down when the Big Apple decided to confront him on the side of the pitch. Even when not clashing with managers, his antics on the touchline were, at best, pantomime and at worst, intimidating.
Oh, we love to dislike him, even when we played Shrewsbury last season, and he popped up in the stands, twice the man he is now, waving as he got a barrage of abuse. Love him or loathe him, Steve Evans is one of football’s characters, and he is back.
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