Stevenage manager Steve Evans is under consideration for the vacant managerial position at Sheffield Wednesday, according to TEAMtalk.
The Owls are on the hunt for a new manager after the sacking of Xisco Munoz on Wednesday night, with the Spaniard departing after picking up just two points from his 10 league games in charge, leaving the club sitting bottom of the Championship table.
Evans has done a remarkable job at Stevenage since his arrival at the Lamex Stadium in March 2022, keeping the Boro in League Two before leading them to automatic promotion last season.
Stevenage have adapted seamlessly to life in League One, and they currently sit fifth in the table with 18 points from their first 11 league games.
However, Evans is not the only name in the frame for the Wednesday job, with former Southampton manager Nathan Jones said to be in contention, while Neil Warnock, who recently left Huddersfield Town, is reportedly interested in the role.
Would Steve Evans be a good appointment for Sheffield Wednesday?
We asked some of our FLW writers for their thoughts on Evans’ potential appointment at Hillsborough.
James Reeves
It would be a huge surprise if Wednesday made a move for Evans.
The 60-year-old has done an excellent job with most of the clubs he has managed, and his work at Stevenage has been outstanding, but much of Evans’ success has come in League One and Two rather than the Championship.
Evans did keep Rotherham United in the second tier in 2015, but his spell at Leeds United was disappointing, and there would be question marks over whether he is the right man to keep the Owls in the division.
The Scotsman’s experience of relegation battles is said to make him attractive to Wednesday, but should the club be looking to make a firefighter appointment, then Warnock would be a much better option.
Evans would likely get a response out of the Owls’ squad, and as he has shown at Stevenage, he is able to over-achieve despite working with a limited budget, but he would be too much of a gamble for Wednesday to take.
You’ve got to have massive respect for Steve Evans and the work he’s done in the EFL over the course of his long managerial career.
The most recent evidence of his ability deserves highlighting, driving Stevenage from the bottom of the League Two table, to promotion, and then into the League One play-off places at this stage of the 2023/24 season.
However, his appointment at Sheffield Wednesday on the back of that would be a huge risk. He’s not managed in the Championship for over seven years now after back-to-back seasons with Rotherham United and Leeds United.
The best work he’s done in his career has been in League One and League Two, and whilst it would be stupid to write off his chances of keeping Wednesday up this season if he gets the job, there are better candidates out there.
Neil Warnock is an experienced firefighting EFL manager with a Championship survival on his CV from last season, whilst Nathan Jones is a long-term option for Wednesday that’s got the here-and-now ability to steer them clear of trouble. They are just two better options right now.
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