Doncaster Rovers creating fear factor at the Keepmoat, says Matty Blair

Rovers defend an unbeaten home record - and one stretching back 11 league games - when 15th-placed Hartlepool United visit tomorrow.

And midfielder Blair says such an imposing record can weigh on visiting teams’ minds.

“We are now getting that bit between our teeth at home, we are very resilient and very confident here,” he said.

“It’s getting to a point where teams could be beaten before they’ve even turned up. That’s obviously what you want - when you go out onto the pitch knowing you’ve got the better of somebody.

“To put the fear into opposition teams and fans before they’ve even got off the bus means we’ve already won a little psychological battle.

“We’re the top goalscorers in the league and we’ve got players that can score at any time,” he reasoned.

“We’re at the top end of the table and if a team coming here is mid-table or lower they might think ‘we’ve got a hard coming up’. Straight away we’ve got one up on them.

“You can’t see it, but psychologically you can sense it and it is very important.”

Blair, however, says there is still room for improvement on home soil.

“We’ve got to be a bit more clinical in the final third to really kill teams off when we’re leading,” he said.

“I think teams are respecting us a lot more than at the start of the season. Because we’re at the top end and we have been dominating games, teams are coming now to set-up and hope for a counter attack game.”