James Coopinger: '˜Everyone at Doncaster Rovers has massive belief in each other'

James Coppinger says the Doncaster Rovers squad have banished the nerves of last season and always has the belief they will always score more goals than their opponents.
James Coppinger became the first inductee into the Doncaster Rovers Hall of Fame on Saturday with a presentation from club president Dick WatsonJames Coppinger became the first inductee into the Doncaster Rovers Hall of Fame on Saturday with a presentation from club president Dick Watson
James Coppinger became the first inductee into the Doncaster Rovers Hall of Fame on Saturday with a presentation from club president Dick Watson

Rovers took 42 minutes to grab a second goal after Coppinger had put them ahead against Newport County on Saturday, a game they always looked in control of.

But the veteran midfielder says there were no nerves while the margin remained slim, in stark contrast to last season where Rovers crumbled on numerous occasions as they slumped towards League Two.

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And Coppinger says the thought of not winning never crossed his mind.

“I think having last season in the back of your mind, you’d probably think we’d be worried,” the 35-year-old said.

“But we’re so confident and have massive belief in everyone that if they get a goal, we can get another. I believe that and I think everyone else would feel it as well.

“When we were 1-0 up, I thought it doesn’t matter if they score – to a point, I don’t mean it like it sounds.

“I just felt if they score, we can get another goal.

“It’s a great thing to have, a great belief to have.

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“If you have that as a footballer you’ve got a good chance of being successful.

“There’s a great team spirit and a great team ethic about what we’re trying to create at Doncaster.”

Coppinger and boss Darren Ferguson both expressed disappointment in Rovers’ performance against Newport, despite the 2-0 win.

And he says that attitude should be seen as a positive.

“To win 2-0 and be disappointed is a good sign,” Coppinger said.

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“We wanted to start well. With the performance from the week before at Morecambe and a great week of training, we were so confident together.

“It’s a really good thing to have as a group.

“Against Newport it was a similar story to what we’ve seen a few times this season. We’ve had so many chances in games, we just need to be a bit more clinical like we were against Morecambe.”