Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann wants his team to make a ‘good run’ in the FA Cup ahead of their first-round tie against Accrington Stanley.
Rovers welcome the Lancashire team to the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with both sides on a spell of good form in League Two.
Grant McCann previewed the clash with club media and believes Doncaster Rovers must be on top of their game to get a result against Stanley. He said: “We want to be as strong as we can. We would like to have a good run in the FA Cup. It’s something for the football club, it’s important for us.
“It’s against an in-form Accrington Stanley team, a good team that John [Coleman] has put together. They’ll be disappointed they came down last year and they’ll be looking to bounce back again.
“We’re up against a very good Accrington team and we know we have to be at our very best.”
A Bit More Positive
The Northern Irish manager also gave some positive injury news to fans, revealing that a cohort of players have returned to training. He continued: “We’ve had Richard Wood train this week, James Maxwell has trained this week.
“Kyle Hurst is getting better, Tyler Roberts has had a full week’s training. Those four are a real positive for us to be back and around the mix.
Jamie Sterry has been on the grass, still two or three weeks away from returning to train with us, George Miller has been on the grass training.
“We’re looking a bit more positive on the injury front in terms of the returning players.”
McCann also spoke on how a cup run could boost a team psychologically. Doncaster nearly pulled off an upset against Everton in the EFL Cup this season, and the 43-year-old noted: “We had a very good performance against Everton here, and we’re disappointed we lost, but we gave them a really good run for their money.
“These things can happen in the cup competitions, it’s huge for League One, League Two and National League clubs. These games are massive for a lot of reasons and we’re no different.”
Writer’s View
Grant McCann must be delighted that most of his players are coming back from injury ahead of their game against Accrington Stanley. Having the extra first-team depth will be a major benefit coming into the Christmas run. Two cup games against Accrington and their final EFL Trophy game against Burton providing a slightly lower stake pathway back to fitness.
This tie will be a great one for neutrals, with two in-form League Two teams squaring off. There has never been a scoreless game between the sides, with Doncaster only having won twice against Stanley since their refounding. John Coleman’s men slipped up last time out against Colchester United and will hope to redeem their mistake in South Yorkshire.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
