Popular Portsmouth title-winning pair come under fire as life away from Fratton Park turns sour amid nightmare start
The Pompey title-winning pair were supposed to spearhead an instant return to the Championship.
Instead pre-season promotion favourites Rotherham are being abused by their own fans, while manager Steve Evans recently met the owner to explain performance levels.
It has been a nightmare start to the campaign for the Millers, who are presently 17th in League One.
Certainly few could have anticipated their struggles following an ambitious summer recruitment drive which saw 14 new arrivals.
Among them were Sean Raggett and Joe Rafferty, mainstays of John Mousinho’s League One champions, yet subsequently released after not being offered fresh deals.
Their high-profile presence, coupled with Evans’ impressive promotion pedigree, saw Rotherham earmarked as genuine contenders in a tough division this term.
However, Raggett has featured just four times, while Rafferty is now established in the side following six weeks sidelined through injury.
And the frustration came to a head in a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley in their most recent fixture, with supporters turning on the team as they made their way down the tunnel after the final whistle.
‘At our team meeting on Monday, players were telling me that they've never had that in their careers.
‘I've never had it. I didn't come back to Rotherham United to get that. But I couldn't say that if I was one of the supporters I would have acted any differently.
‘Our performance over 90 minutes fell below the standard supporters should expect of a Steve Evans team. We cannot die like the team did last year.’
Barnsley marked Raggett’s first appearance in seven weeks during an injury-hit start to life at Rotherham.
Rafferty also started, making his 14th appearance after cementing himself as the Millers’ first-choice right-back.
Meanwhile, Evans, who won two promotions in his first spell with the club, has now been given the backing by owner Tony Stewart.
Evans added: ‘My conversation with him on Saturday was not an easy one for me,” the Scot said. “He is the wealthy benefactor who has put millions of pounds into this club. He didn't get those millions by being an easy touch.
‘It was hard, but he opened up with: “I want you to turn this around and I'm stood shoulder to shoulder with you”. He said: “I'm here to support you”.
‘We discussed the previous night and our run of form. The chairman wants to see an upturn in performances first and foremost. He talks about performances because he's a wholehearted believer in “performances right, results right”.
“He said: “I believe in you. I saw what happened the first time you were here. Get this oil tanker moving in the right direction”.