Doncaster Rovers: '˜High tempo' should lead to home comforts for Darren Ferguson's men

In the last five seasons, Rovers have won just 32 per cent of their league games at the Keepmoat.

It is a figure that is even more damning when it is noted that one of those seasons finished with them at the top of the league.

Getting Rovers firing on home soil has been a task successive managers have been faced with and one that none have fully completed.

Current incumbent Darren Ferguson knows success at home will be key if he is to mastermind an immediate return to League One. After all, away grounds in the bottom tier are hardly the easiest places to go.

The issue Rovers have faced on a regular basis since they dropped out the Championship is opposing teams sitting back and inviting the hosts to attack.

It is something Ferguson is well aware he will have to deal with again this term.

It could indeed happen this weekend when Rovers host Yeovil Town.

The Rovers boss insists his players are well aware of what to expect this term and know how to combat it.

“I think we’ve had that experience now,” he told The Star.

“The key to that is we’ve got to play with a tempo and an energy at home.

“I think when you don’t it leads to frustration, the players getting frustrated and making the wrong decisions.

“We’ve spoken about that at length and I think in the Cambridge game we were far better.

“We just have to keep improving. That’s what I’m looking for and also taking positives out of the game.

“We’re giving ourselves a chance by keeping clean sheets.

“If we keep doing that, I think there’s goals in the team.”

Ferguson believes key to positive results for Rovers is not getting frustrated when they fail to turn dominance into goals – something which plagued them at times last season.

At Cheltenham Town last week, Rovers were in full control in the first half but did not score. An early goal in the second half was enough to calm nerves.

Ferguson said: “We don’t have to win the game in the first period but we can get control of it.

“Last weekend was similar to the Cambridge game. We had chances, we dominated the game in terms of being the team that looked like scoring the goal.

“I felt a bit of frustration in the last ten minutes of the half.

“We talked about it at half time. I told them to keep doing what they were doing and fortunately we got the goal early in the second half and went from there.”