English Football League cult hero Steve Evans – who has managed the likes of Gillingham, Millwall and Crawley Town across a wonderfully crafted career in the dugout – has undergone an incredible body transformation, by losing in excess of an eye-catching 40kg, since leaving Rotherham United in March 2025.
Appointed by The Millers in April 2024, much was expected of him given his experience and know-how of managing teams in similar divisions. Things didn't exactly go swimmingly and, after 50 games in charge of the AESSEAL New York Stadium outfit, he'd chalked up a points per game (PPG) rate of 1.34.
Being a manager is no easy feat; long days sat down around a tactics board, very little physical exertion and, all in all, a severe lack of constant movement. Evans, in good humour, always managed to absorb the jibes about his weight, but the arrival of his four grandchildren changed his perspective. He said:
"I want to be around when they are 25. 30. I want to see them have kids. Is that possible? Yeah, it is possible," he said before admitting that a trip to a cardiologist – who specialises in the treatment of the heart and blood vessels – sparked a change in the way he viewed his physical and mental wellbeing.
Evans Opens Up About Extraordinary Body Transformation
rotherham evans
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, per talkSPORT, Evans explained that he had many a route back in football management but, as part of his health kick, the season custodian believed that he would take the time out to better himself. "I came out of Rotherham and made some family decisions. Despite the phone ringing from a couple of clubs to go straight into them, I made the decision to get healthy.
He insisted that he had not taken full care of himself since parting ways with Leeds United back in May 2016. "I had not done it since the end of my time at Leeds United, so a lot of years. I went to see some serious people and some specialists, a cardiologist and fitness people," Evans continued.
As part of Evans' fitness regime, which has helped him lose around the six-and-a-half stone mark, he claimed that a 2.5 km swim each morning has been paramount. Going for a bike ride and walking his dogs, however, are much less strenuous ways of losing weight, he admitted. The benefits, he said, are uncanny.
"We came up with a plan and my family did not think I would be able to do it. But here we are, seven months or so later, six and a half stone down. It has been incredibly hard work, going swimming two and a half kilometres every morning and biking and walking dogs and doing so many steps. I am feeling the benefit now mentally and physically, fantastic."
"I do 50 to 70 lengths. Then I will do some biking. Then I will do the sauna. It is about two-and-a-half hours there [at the gym] before I head home and then there are very much planned meals for lunch and planned meals for dinner."
A bona fide legend in EFL circles, the managerial career of Evans – born and bred in Glasgow, Scotland – spans across nine different clubs in England, which has seen him oversee north of a 1,000 games across league and cup fixtures. He had spells in charge of Stevenage, Mansfield and Peterborough.