FOR once, I’d give a penny for Rotherham manager Steve Evans’ thoughts.

Evans was in the stand on Saturday, serving his second touchline ban of the season for abusing officials.

Those of you who have followed Wrexham’s many skirmishes with him, going back to our dramatic last day showdown with his Boston United side in 2007, will suspect he’s watched more games in the crowd than the dugout over the course of his career.

He dismissively described us as the “Harlem Globetrotters of League One” last month, but he’s been uncharacteristically quiet about our three-pointer at his expense.

He had a point about our squad depth, though. At the New York Stadium we enjoyed a wonderful illustration of the quality of player Phil Parkinson has at his disposal.

Ollie Rathbone came on for Andy Cannon with half an hour left and was so impressive he had to be considered as a man of the match contender.

Cannon had stood up to a battering with aplomb, delivering his potent mix of boundless energy and combination play with Ryan Barnett, who picked up where he left off against Northampton before the international break.

Rathbone had been outstanding against Wolves U21 in the EFL Trophy, leading the press and creating all sorts of opportunities with his relentless intensity and intelligent use of the ball.

He came on and instantly made an impact: within moments of his introduction he triggered a press, leading to Rotherham’s left back being harassed and eventually dispossessed by his own corner flag as Rathbone, Barnett and Paul Mullin swarmed around him.

Rathbone (pictured right) continued in the same manner for the rest of the game. Before long he’d won the ball back and then created a chance for Mullin which was only foiled by a fine save. The quality of his final ball, having made a tackle and worked a neat one-two with Fletcher which left him stretching to get to the return pass first, was magnificent.

Everyone who knows anything about Rotherham has told me that Rathbone was their outstanding player last season in the Championship, and he was treated to a warm Yorkshire welcome when he came on, which reflected well on both the Millers fans and him.

Evans’ feelings as Rathbone tucked into his team are unrecorded, although he claims his reaction to being told his best player had gone to Wrexham was to angrily kick his dog’s ball into the neighbour’s back garden!

How remarkable that we can call on a player of that calibre from the bench. Rathbone’s CV clearly illustrates that, like the magnificent George Dobson, he was drafted in over the summer as an upgrade to our midfield.

His performances, from a fine cameo at Peterborough to the bullying of his erstwhile team mates on Saturday, have given us glimpses of his quality, but the superb form of our midfield trio of Dobson, Cannon and Elliot Lee has meant Rathbone’s opportunities have been restricted.

You can say the same about Seb Revan, who spent the campaign on loan from Aston Villa at Rotherham last season. The same Millers fans who lauded Rathbone informed me that he’d been their next best player in a miserable relegation campaign.

Like Rathbone, he’s been brought in to add quality to the squad. Like Rathbone, we’ve been treated to some impressive performances when he’s had an opportunity.

Like Rathbone, he’s been denied the pitch time he’d have hoped for when he arrived by the excellent form of the players who were already in situ in the positions he plays.

We didn’t even need to bring him on at Rotherham, which must have been a sobering thought for their fans to mull over. Our strength in depth is such that we don’t need to bring on their two best players from a Championship side to beat them!

It’s amazing to think that players of their quality can’t get into our team. Cast your mind back to some of the shoestring budget sides we watched in the National League, and consider our bench on Saturday: Rathbone, Revan, Callum Burton, Lewis Brunt, Luke Bolton, Mo Faal and Steven Fletcher. Each of them would have been stand-out players in those days.

Of course, our squad goes deeper than that: Mark Howard, Anthony Forde, Jacob Mendy, Will Boyle and James Jones weren’t even on the bench!

Throw in young prospects like Harry Ashfield and Aaron James, and the players we’ve sent out on loan, and Parkinson has accumulated quite the treasure trove of classy players. That’s one hell of a slam dunk by the gaffer!

We’ve a strong record against Charlton Athletic, which is surprising as they’ve only been in a lower division than us for one season. In 15 games we’ve won seven times to their three. Games at The Valley have been evenly contested, with two wins apiece.

Our last match there was in February 1982, and saw The Valiants claim a 1-0 win which ended an eight-match unbeaten run against them.

Our biggest win at The Valley was the first time the two sides met. In September 1969 we sprung a League Cup upset with a 2-0 win, an own goal and a strike by Stuart Mason separating the two sides.