Doncaster Rovers: Fergie's future '˜never in doubt' - Baldwin

Chief executive Gavin Baldwin says 'there wasn't a doubt' that Darren Ferguson would remain as manager following Doncaster Rovers' relegation to League Two.
Darren FergusonDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson

And he has hailed the ‘Fergie Factor’ which, he says, has been paramount in the very profound and proactive summer rebuilding job at the club.

Asked by The Star why Rovers opted to stand by Ferguson in the wake of relegation, Baldwin replied: “There wasn’t a doubt.

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“At the end of the season I’m sure the owners will have considered all options with every position within the club. There have been changes throughout the football staff and there have been changes with the off-field staff.

“Darren shared a vision with us when he was recruited and we bought into that vision.

“Yes, we had an unprecedented bad spell, but we hope that’s an unprecedented bad spell of half a season within five good years, if you like.

“We’re looking at a long term vision and we do buy into what he wants to achieve, how he tries to achieve it and how he conducts himself and his passion.

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He added: “Just to put it into context, obviously I can’t name the player, but every manager I have worked with at this club has wanted to bring in one of the players we have brought in this year and Darren’s been the only manager that’s been able to do it, despite relegation.

“The players buy into Darren, and that has been a massive selling point of this club.

“One agent I spoke to was honest enough to say he was in a really weak position when he was bargaining with us because the player had said ‘I only want to play for Darren Ferguson’.

“From our point of view it makes conversations very easy.

“Therefore it wasn’t a conversation at the end of the season, it was a tick box.”