Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann has called for calm heads at the club despite losing their opening two matches of the brand new League Two season, when speaking to the official Doncaster Rovers website.
Donny were humbled on their travels yesterday when making the long journey from South Yorkshire to South Wales to play Newport County, the Exiles running out convincing 4-0 victors with the scoreline already 3-0 by half-time at Rodney Parade.
Grant McCann’s men went into this one hoping they could bounce back from defeat on the opening day, near neighbours Harrogate Town leaving The Eco-Power Stadium with all three points after a dubious penalty decision went the way of the team in yellow and black to pick up a 1-0 win.
Still, the ex Peterborough United manager turned two-time Donny boss is remaining composed ahead of the 44-game marathon still to come for this side in the division.
Expectations at Doncaster This Season
Optimism at Doncaster Rovers before the season got underway was sky-high, the departure of Danny Schofield after his failed tenure in the hot-seat and the reappointment of Grant McCann to the Eco-Power making supporters believe again.
Signings in at the South Yorkshire club had also raised expectations that this campaign would be a good one, bolstering the squad with the experienced captures of Richard Wood and Joe Ironside but also adding in young and exciting talents such as George Broadbent and loan deals involving Tyler Roberts and recently Mo Faal.
Now, after back-to-back defeats to open this new League Two campaign, many fans who might have thought Donny would push for those promotion places right from the get-go have now had their expectations tempered.
What Has Been Said?
Speaking after the humbling Newport County loss, Grant McCann was still hopeful and remained calm that his side could come good with Donny facing off against Mansfield Town this coming Tuesday. He said: “There’s two ways that you can go about it – you can either throw your toys out of the pram or you can remain calm.”
“I know what I’ll do. I’ll remain calm and I’ll make sure I pick the players up and go again. It’s a three game week and that’s all we can do. We can’t let it linger, we have to address it and move on.”
He did, however, praise new loan signing Mo Faal when he was substituted late on versus Graham Coughlan’s Exiles.
He said: “I thought he was good when he came on. I wish I’d have brought him on earlier to be honest.”
“You can see what he’s about. He’s hard to play against and showed real maturity for his age when he came on I thought. It was a good debut from him.”
Doncaster Rovers midfielder Harrison Biggins too spoke to the Doncaster Rovers website after the dismal defeat in Wales, saying that his side had an off-day on their travels.
The 27-year-old midfielder commented: “We’ll go in Monday, dissect it and go through it and we’ve really got to look at ourselves now and bounce back on Tuesday.”
“It’s difficult to put your finger on it straight after the game but the basics weren’t there. We’ve spoken about it before – winning second balls, winning our duels – and it just wasn’t good enough all round.”
Writer’s View
The fans, players and all the coaching staff at Doncaster Rovers will be disappointed with how this League Two campaign has begun, two defeats with zero goals to their name.
The Newport defeat especially will hurt, Doncaster played off the park by Newport County for most of the match with the Exiles previously struggling for goals in pre-season and in the league.
Grant McCann’s calm persona is the correct one however, seasons aren’t decided after the opening two contests. But, he will hope they can pick up some victories in League Two soon with a precious three points needed against Mansfield Town next.
