Steve Evans gives Birmingham City nickname after record breaking transfer window

Steve Evans has dubbed Birmingham City ‘the Real Madrid of League One’ ahead of their clash with his Rotherham United side next week.

Blues have attracted attention after a big spending summer which saw them sign 17 new players and smash the League One transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield for in excess of £10million. Rotherham signed 14 players of their own but their business was made up of free transfers and loans.

This isn’t the first time Evans has commented on Blues’ spending power and it only adds to what promises to be an exciting clash between two of League One’s promotion candidates at the New York Stadium.

In response to a question about the strength of League One, Evans said: “We’ve not played the Real Madrid of League One, we play them a week on Saturday, and we’ve not played the Harlem Globetrotters which will turn up when Parky brings Wrexham here.

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“In all seriousness, we’ll get a measurement after 12 or 14 games, it’s always the situation whether you’re League One, Championship or below. You need 12 or 14 games to get an idea because you’ll have played a mix of teams.

“We’ve been really hurt by the loss of key players at different times. (Sean) Raggett and (Joe) Rafferty, especially, and players not being able to get through that pre-season programme to be 100 percent sharp and ready. We’re getting there and the DNA is becoming stronger every day now. Sometimes that takes a lot of time.

"And the one thing is we’ll never get credit for that. If you’re a (Chris) Wilder turning up at Sheffield United, he is just meant to be successful. I’m the same when I come back to the New York Stadium. I knew the expectation immediately when I walked through the door as manager again.

“We’re getting there quickly but we need to keep it going because the standards at the top of this league are going to be quite awesome over the course of a season.”

Evans ended his interview with BBC Radio Sheffield by calling Blues 'Real Birmingham '.

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