Will Evans: I wanted to be part of the new era

Central defender Will Evans voiced his pleasure in pledging his next 24 months to the Iron, as he pens a new two-year deal with the club.

The 32-year-old joined last summer following his departure from Boreham Wood, with his remainder in North Lincolnshire suiting the defender for more reason than one.

“I’m really pleased and delighted that the club have offered me a two-year deal. They have put faith in me for a longer period of time, rather than a one-year deal, and that’s pleasing for me. 

“It’s massive. I had a lot of travelling before my time at Scunthorpe. I was travelling down to London every day which was a lot on my body and my mental state. For me to be at a club where the location is near enough perfect for me. You get a real connection with a club, and Scunthorpe is a big club, and you feel as though you’re bigger than just being a player at a football club.

“I said straight away, I wanted to be part of the new era with the new manager and the new owners, going into a fresh season. It’s something I really wanted to be part of.”

Evans has formed a good bond with new boss Andy Butler, and was able to play alongside him in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. He spoke about his appointment to the helm ahead of the new campaign: “I was really pleased. When I saw the news about Jimmy going, Andy was my first phone call, as I wanted to know where he was at. 

“I’ve built up a really good relationship with him over the last season, with us both being centre-halves, and I think we get on really well off the field. We have similar ideas on how we want to play, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

One part of Butler’s regime that will be gruelling is the pre-season schedule, with Evans giving his thoughts on the return to work in under a month’s time.

“I’ve been through a few tough pre-seasons, and to be honest, I never look forward to them,” he continued. 

“It’s not something I’m very good at, I just get on with it. It does sometimes fill you with dread, but obviously you’ve got to be fit and be able to get through a full season of hard, gruelling games.”

With a number of the core group of players remaining together for the new season, and a lot of lessons learned from one season in the Vanarama National League North, Evans is convinced all the tools handed to the side in 2023-24 can be used going forward to turn a nearly season into a successful one.

“It’s one of the things I said to the gaffer. Especially from a personal point of view, there was a lot to learn from last season. We know what to expect,” he stated. 

“There’s going to be a lot of times where it’s going to be tough again, and hopefully there will be a lot of highs. Everyone at the club is hopefully going to be more realistic on what to expect, as it’s different even from the National League. Two years ago, this club was in League Two. It’s been eye-opening at this level, but it was a nearly season last season, and hopefully we can learn from that and really push on this season.

“The are a lot of talented players in the building and many of those are staying. There have been negotiations behind the scenes, and it’s been really good that the club have been able to keep the core group, because we can build from that. It’s a massive part of being a successful team - having that bond on and off the field is massive.”

For the defender personally, he reflected on his own campaign, as the Iron seek to go one better in the new campaign.

“For me personally, I felt like I had a pretty reasonable season,” he added. 

“I’d like to contribute to a few more goals, but hopefully keep as many clean sheets again. Definitely, I’d like to be the team with the least conceded goals, because that would be a fantastic core foundation to build from.

“Obviously promotion is the end goal for all of us, and I’m looking forward to the challenge, and going again.”