Doncaster Rovers: 'Don't blame the board' - Ferguson

Darren Ferguson says Doncaster Rovers fans should not blame the club's board for their current predicament.
Darren FergusonDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson

An 11-game run without a win has heightened scrutiny of the club's dealings in the January transfer window, when Harry Forrester, Richie Wellens and Rob Jones were all allowed to leave.

Rovers signed Craig Alcock from Sheffield United, brought in young forward Lynden Gooch on loan from Sunderland, Eddy Lecygne on loan from Stoke City and goalkeeper Chris Neal as temporary cover for Thorsten Stuckmann, while also extending Cameron Stewart's loan stay.

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Young Aston Villa midfielder Riccardo Calder joined the club on loan until the end of the season last week, but Rovers recently saw a bid rejected by Ilkeston Town for highly-rated defender Jordan Wheatley.

The feeling from some supporters that the blame lies above Ferguson, for a failure to back the manager with sufficient funds in January, was put to Rovers' boss at his pre-Bradford City press conference on Thursday.

Ferguson replied: "The board have been fantastic. They've been great in terms of getting the players in that I wanted to get in around the month of January when we were flying.

"Lyndon's come in, Riccardo's come in, and Alcock, Conor Grant, Felipe before that.

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"I believe that the quick fix is not to go out and get another five or six players. You'd end up with nine or ten on loan.

"I don't agree with that at all. The board have been a fantastic support to me, there's no question about that. We're all in this together.

"I had another chat with them this morning and we all stick to shoulder by shoulder on this. We're all hurting at the moment and we have to make sure we get enough wins to keep us in the league.

"Everything is absolutely fine [with the board]," he added.

"People shouldn't start questioning that because that's the wrong thing to do. We are one hundred per cent all in it together - myself, the staff, the players and the board.

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"Obviously the fans are going to have a real negative feel at the moment.

"When you get a performance like we did on Tuesday in a derby, with such a following, the fans will turn. And that's what happened on Tuesday, the fans turned, but we have to deal with that."