Gavin Baldwin on Thailand trip, relegation battle and Football League Awards

The trip did mean that I missed the Rovers game against Rochdale but the time we invested to be away did open up a wealth of opportunity with potential sponsors and some certain future sponsors for the football club.

All of that means extra revenue coming in to the club that can then be invested into the first team squad. We also have now cast a net of opportunity far and wide into Thailand which is something we have not been able to do previously. We thank FBT for this and look forward to working with them and their partners closely in the short, middle and long term. Our friends in Thailand are very keen for us to tour the country as part of the 2017/18 pre-season and we are already looking to secure hotel partners that our supporters can benefit from during that.

We can’t ignore results on the pitch. They haven’t been great at all recently, we all recognise that. We find ourselves in a position that still sees us fighting for our League One status. I say “fighting” because that is what we are all doing, on and off the pitch to help Darren Ferguson secure that win to break this run and then onto the next result to hopefully help us towards safety. We have seen a positive reaction from the players in recent weeks but finding the net has proved difficult. This is something that Darren is addressing this week before a tough tie against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

This Sunday are the Football League Awards in Manchester. We are proud that this club have been nominated for two awards. Firstly, Andy Butler has been nominated for the PFA Community Player of the Year Award, he goes head to head with George Friend. Andy is a stand out amongst his peers for the work that he does in the community, most of it in his own time, helping the Club Doncaster Foundation reach a wider audience. Best of luck to him. The club have also been shortlisted for the Nickelodeon Family Club of the Year Award. We go head to head with Millwall for the League One crown and then against the winners of the League Two and Championship for the overall title. We have been received some very positive feedback from the Football League and our friends at other clubs for our Junior Rovers day, the My Local Scream Halloween day and for the Donny’s Deli catering solution for our younger fans. We have a heavy focus on making matchdays special for our younger fans and families and hope to receive further recognition of this on Sunday.