Doncaster Rovers: Ferguson keen for players to get fresh

Darren Ferguson is looking to carefully manage his Doncaster Rovers squad through the busy period ahead in order to get them back on a winning run.
James CoppingerJames Coppinger
James Coppinger

Ferguson admitted he felt Rovers’ performance in the goalless draw with Crawley Town had suffered due to being the third game in the space of a week.

And he is determined to do all he can to prevent a similar situation next week, starting with Saturday’s game with Cheltenham Town with games against Notts County and Leyton Orient to follow.

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“Looking back at the game, I don’t know if our sharpness was really there,” Ferguson told The Star.

“We created chances in the first half but sometimes the quality was not there.

“The quality of a player like James Coppinger, you have to play him. But after a third game in a week, maybe he looked not as sharp.

“Alfie May, maybe Conor Grant were the same.

“We’ve freshened them up this week.

“Those that played on Saturday didn’t go out on the grass on Monday. We got them in the pool, totally freshened them up and got all the stuff out of their legs.

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“It was a light session on Tuesday, they’re off Wednesday and then Thursday will be full prep, a real focus on Cheltenham.

“The following week we’ll be focusing a lot on the recovery. We’ll be in the whole week.

“It’s going to be a massive week and then after that we’ve got an eight day gap so I can get a bit of rest into them.

“They will be fresh for Saturday though.”