Doncaster Rovers: '˜Ruthless' win at Morecambe was fitting tribute to Copps - Ferguson

Coppinger scored on his 500th appearance for the club as Rovers turned on the style at the Globe Arena.

A John Marquis brace and goals from Andy Butler and Matty Blair also helped Doncaster bounce back from their defeat at Crewe and move up to fourth in the League Two table.

Afterwards, Ferguson said the performance indicated just how well Coppinger is respected by his teammates.

“It was a big day for the boy, and it was a really top performance,” said Ferguson.

“The lads got him a cake last night, they wore the [Coppinger, number 26] shirts in the warm-up, we knew how important it was for him. That’s how respected he is, and I think we justified that with the performance.

“It was a good performance and a good result. We started the game very strongly.

“There was a little lapse before half time which got them back into the game. I said to them ‘just keep moving the ball quickly, it’s causing them all sorts of problems’.

“The second half was very good, good goals, capped off by a great goal from Copps.

“As a team we played very well,” he added.

“I wasn’t surprised and I’ve been waiting for that to happen.

“We were ruthless, and that was the difference between this week and last week.

“As long as we keep on improving, that’s the main thing. We’ve improved from last week, especially in the last third. There were some really good goals, and we looked strong enough at the back.

“It was a good day, a good performance.”