'Our season is very much alive' - Darren Moore reflects on Doncaster Rovers' campaign so far

Rovers sit five points off the top six in League One, which has been suspended until at least April 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That date is expected to be pushed back further this week following meetings between the EFL, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association, with the spread of the virus yet to peak in Britain.

Rovers are currently not in training, following advice from the EFL, with players maintaining fitness levels in isolation at home.

While planning for the possibility of the eventual resumption of competition and what may follow afterwards, manager Moore is given pause to reflect on his first eight months in charge of Rovers.

“I’m happy with the way things have gone so far,” Moore said.

“As I’ve said before, I’m not completely satisfied because that is the nature of who I am.

“We just have to keep working.

“In terms of when we first came into the football club, the time we came in and the work that we’ve all put in together, I’ve got to be relatively happy.

“The squad is a young squad, it’s vibrant, it wants to learn and develop. There have been many in their making league debuts at League One level.

“It’s a real tough level. It’s a baptism of fire for learning and developing.

“But my goodness have the boys taken it on board with the work that has been put into them.

“There’s been a group cohesion to it as well in terms of that learning and understanding.

“They’ve come from different backgrounds, different clubs, different set-ups, shapes and philosophies.

“All the coincides with playing in a very tough division and we are in a position where our season is very much alive.

“I’ll still take it one game at a time and we’ll look to load it and get a high level of performance.

“We’ve put a structure in place and now it’s about developing that and trusting in that structure further and making it even better going forward.

“That has always been my main goal in terms of the end.”

Moore faced a challenging situation from the start as he looked to construct a squad that had seen its core ripped out over the previous few months.

The departure of experienced players such as Andy Butler and Tommy Rowe, the loss of key loanees such as Herbie Kane, Mallik Wilks and Paul Downing and the disruption of the unexpected departure of manager Grant McCann ensured Moore inherited a shell of the squad that had reached the League One play-offs three months earlier.

The fact he arrived with little more than a fortnight before the start of the season made the task even more imposing, as did dealing with the sale of John Marquis to Portsmouth.

Moore quickly went about constructing his squad, and brought together a much-changed group, relying on an influx of loan signings to bolster his ranks.

The 45-year-old says the cohesion that quickly formed between the new-look group has been one of the most pleasing aspects of his time at the club so far.

“Bringing the loan players in that we have, they’ve been excellent,” he said. “Some of them have been first time or second time loans.

“Also the group of players that were already here, both have had to come into a new environment and a new system and style.

“But no one has carried any baggage from where they’ve been at.

They’ve come with a blank canvas and we’ve set them tasks to do throughout the week and in games and they’ve followed them accordingly.

“There’s been system changes, formation changes, players sacrificing themselves to play in different positions for the basis of the team.

“When they’ve done it and seen the rewards of it, that’s been really rewarding.

“We’ve suffered injuries and suspensions, we’ve had to make do with what we’ve got along the way and bit by bit.

“What I have been pleased with is that we’ve all been fully committed to it. We’ve not grumbled about it. We’ve had to just get on with it.

“I think those have been the big areas that have given us a platform to build on going forward for the football club.”

Moore believes the commitment and determination of the group has been the major driving force behind their success so far this term.

“Looking back on the season so far, it’s been relatively good,” he said.

“There’s been some highs, there’s been some lows. There’s been areas where we’ve been strong and others we need to get stronger at.

“We’ve had to overcome different hurdles and we’ve done that together.

“In terms of the group and where they’ve been, certainly at the start of the season, they’ve been excellent in terms of their input into it and their engagement.

“There’s been a full commitment by everybody and that is why we’ve been able to achieve what we have thus far this season.

“I think that’s been the biggest thing for us going forward - we’ve had a fully committed group to seeing the plan coming to fruition and keep going.

“We’ve still got a lot of football to be played if we are to resume.

“We just need to maintain our focus and set out to do what we did from day one from when I landed here.

“That won’t change to the last kick of the season, whenever that is.”