Steve Evans has fired another shot at Bristol Rovers, describing their promotion from League Two last season as a "shambles".
Stevenage manager Evans is far from a popular figure among Gasheads for his antics over the years, particularly his comments in October when he discredited Rovers' third-place finish last season, which was secured by beating already-relegated Scunthorpe United 7-0 on the final day at the Mem to edge out Northampton Town to promotion on goals scored after they won 3-1 at Barrow.
Evans' side are third in the League Two table, two points adrift of Jon Brady's Northampton ahead of Saturday's trip to Sixfields.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, they should already be in League One after what happened last season,” Evans said at his pre-match press conference. “It was a shambles what went on. They should have been promoted.
"For them to bounce back and for Jon and Colin (Calderwood) to do the job they are doing, they deserve nothing but my applause. But Saturday is a separate battle altogether and it’s as tough as it gets."
Evans' latest dig at Rovers follows similar comments in October when Northampton and Stevenage met earlier in the season.
"Listen, they should be in League One,” Evans said, as reported by the Northampton Chronicle. “You know that, I know that and the EFL know that. Everyone knows that apart from Bristol Rovers fans.
"What happened to them on the last day of the season, with the weakness of the Scunthorpe team, has got no place in football. But it happened."
Former Scunny manager Keith Hill faced criticism from Cobblers fans 13 months ago for fielding what was perceived as a weakened team against with youngsters from the club's academy against the Gas. However, several of them had already featured in previous games after their relegation was confirmed, including a 1-1 draw with Evans' Stevenage three games previously.
Indeed, eight of the starters in that game kept their place at the Mem, and two of the men coming into the XI were 35-year-old Liam Feeney and 34-year-old Anthony Grant. The EFL and FA found no wrongdoing, with all selection regulations followed.
After Evans' comments in October, Gas manager Joey Barton responded: “It’s a helluva lot different looking at the fixture list and seeing a trip to Pride Park and a trip Hillsborough, rather than Crawley and Stevenage and big Steve Evans charging up and down the touchline.
“He’s commented this week, hasn’t he? It must’ve been in between screaming at officials. He’s commented that we were lucky or something like that.
“I haven’t read it, I’ve just heard about it. I don’t know why, it’s bizarre. He won’t want to help Jon. Jon doesn’t like me anyway and I don’t think he will send me a Christmas card.
“Steve is entitled to his opinion. There’s nothing wrong with what he said. We’re up now, so tough s*** on that one.”
Evans has had a knack for winding Gasheads up over the years, be it through his mannerisms and outbursts on the touchline or his press conference barbs, like after a 1-1 draw at the Mem in 2019 when he said: "It's not very often you hear Bristol Rovers quiet, especially as the shed end (Thatchers End) but they were deathly silent because they, like their team, were waiting to get beat.
"You have to respect the manager, the opponents and you certainly have to respect the Bristol Rovers fans - they've given me plenty of stick over the years but they give brilliant backing to their team.
"This is the quietest I've heard them. Some of my staff said that. I think they just went silent because they probably didn't think we could play like that."
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