Despite spending much of the season in the play-offs spots of League One, a drop in form all but confirmed Stevenage would be staying in the third tier for at least another season. Very few had tipped Boro to be competing towards the top end of the table, myself included. It was predicted by many that they would be lucky to survive relegation. However, Steve Evans did what he did best and was able to push his side into competing with teams with a much greater budget.
On the other hand, former side Rotherham United have continued the trend of being one of the EFL’s most consistent yo-yo clubs. With just a couple of games left until the end of the season, they confirmed that they had parted company with manager Leam Richardson and in a surprise move, met the release clause to bring Steve Evans back to the club. The immediacy of the move, with the season not yet over, has shocked many pundits and fans alike and now the club have the monumental task of replacing a man who dragged them from almost dropping into the National League to League One play-off contention.
Here are five potential replacements for Steve Evans at Stevenage.
Mark Kennedy
What Stevenage need now more than anything is to ensure the side don’t enter free-fall. When a character like Steve leaves it becomes a question as to whether you want to try and find a manager that plays a similar style or change and try something different. Mark Kennedy is perhaps towards the latter, he has the ability to put together a side that is difficult to beat, with the ability to grind out results, especially against the top teams. Some may look at the disappointment of his final season at his former club Lincoln, however, he was often managing with two hands tied behind his back. Big-name summer signings Tyler Walker and Ben House were out injured and loanee Luke Plange failed to impress. Whilst his successor has had a huge amount of success, he also has the talents of Ben House, Joe Taylor, Freddie Draper and Jonvon Makama to call upon and the attack couldn’t do their work without the solid defence that Kennedy helped forge.
Gareth Ainsworth
From part of the furniture at Wycombe Wanderers to the food processor that is QPR, Ainsworth could be a safe pair of hands for Stevenage. He is a successful manager who has achieved promotions and knows what it takes to compete in League One. His side may not always be the prettiest on the eyes, but neither was Steve Evans. Ainsworth needs to find somewhere that will allow him to set his roots again and Stevenage find themselves in a precarious position. This could be a match made in heaven.
Scott Lindsey
A manager who can take a predicted relegation candidate to compete for a spot in the play-offs on a more limited budget than some of the teams he is competing against? No not Steve Evans, but Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey. Despite a turbulent time at Swindon Town, Lindsey has shown he has the ability and desire to push his side against the odds up the league. He is still in contract and therefore would need a fee to secure his services, but considering Stevenage just received a fee for Evans it could be put to good use in securing the man who was robbed of the League Two Manager of the Season award.
Luke Garrard
Garrard is a superb manager ready to take the step up to the next level, if it wasn’t for his loyalty at the club he may well already have been in the EFL. He has worked wonders at Boreham Wood, which he has been the manager of since 2015 and at 38 he is a young manager still developing his game and has a reasonable 35.91% win rate. He is set to depart the club at the end of the season, after a difficult end but has already shown he has all the qualities of a top manager.
Andy Woodman
Steve Evans has one of the biggest personalities in the game. How do you replace that, with perhaps one of the other biggest personalities in management? Andy Woodman is a larger-than-life, down-to-earth gentleman who has been a revelation at Bromley. His man management and connections as well as his ability to punch above his weight have made him a highly desirable target for EFL clubs. In the past, he has reportedly turned down the opportunity to speak to Gillingham, but the opportunity to manage in the third tier could be too good an offer to turn down.
Wild Card Michael Duff
He is only a wild card because I’m not sure if he would come to Stevenage at this stage. But it could quite possibly be a season defining appointment should they get him. He has shown he can compete at this level and is perhaps looking at League One again as a potential next step after recent disappointment.