Peterborough United missed out on Wembley because Clarke-Harris didn't play enough minutes, according to Steve Evans

Clarke-Harris was sent on as a 77th minute substitute at the Weston Homes Stadium and a saw a header cleared off the line towards the end of a 1-1 draw which sent Oxford through to tomorrow’s play-off final against Bolton Wanderers.

Evans, who is now the manager of Rotherham United, was speaking to his new club’s media team after signing Clarke-Harris on, for nothing, for a second spell at the Aesseal New York Stadium.

Clarke-Harris signed a two-year deal with ‘the Millers’ after he was released by Posh last week. Evans thinks he would have signed a triple League One Golden Boot winner rather than a double winner if the 29 year-old had played more games for Darren Ferguson's side. Clarke-Harris started just 16 League One games and made 18 appearances from the bench, scoring nine goals.

"I watched the play-off semi-final wanting Peterborough United to win,” Evans stated. “And I think they would have been at Wembley if Jonson had come on earlier, but I can’t make those decisions. I’m just delighted to have the chance to work with him again. I’ve followed his career closely since bringing him to Rotherham many moons ago and I believe every League One club should have wanted to sign him.

"A few months ago he could have joined Charlton for £800k and a few months before that he could have joined Bristol Rovers for £1 million. They are guaranteed numbers. There would have been add ons as well.

"He’s been a proven goalscorer for years now at Bristol Rovers and at Peterborough. Their managers knew that if you feed him he will score goals. I doubt there were any League One defenders getting ready to play against him who thought he was going to be anything but a handful. He’s a big character and an assertive one rather than an aggressive one. He will be brilliant in our dressing room.

"He was one of the players at the top of my recruitment list and to get it done so quickly shows the power of our chairman and also of the determination of the player because he could have got more money elsewhere. Jonson demonstrated he wanted to come here with the personal terms he accepted and by his commitment to travelling up here. He’s a lovely lad who needs to be appreciated and valued and he will be with us.

"There’s still improvement in him which we will work on. He’s a proven goalscorer, but he still wants to learn. In my opinion he would have now won three Golden Boots if he’d played more last season. I think his goals per minutes played percentage was better last season than in his previous seasons at Peterborough.

"Jonson said he wanted to play for me again which is great. Sometimes players say that without meaning it, but does. He said he has unfinished business which is also true.

"We’re trying to build a competitive team for what will be a really tough challenge this season, but Rotherham United should not be a League One club. I look at the teams who came down with us, the teams who didn’t get up last season like Peterborough, Barnsley and whoever loses the play-off final and I see a strong league. Wrexham, Mansfield and Stockport are strong teams who have come up. Therefore we have to be strong as well and we will be.”

Rotherham won back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship in Evans’ first spell as Millers’ manager between 2012-2015. He also kept them in the second tier