John Buckley's Doncaster Rovers column: Top three finish within our grasp

It’s as simple as that.

And I’m confident we can do it.

When I’m out and about speaking to people who read this column I’m often accused of being overly optimistic when it comes to Rovers (and my charity bets!).

But when you consider the quality of players that have been brought in over the summer, I really can’t see why we can’t get off to a flying start and stay in that top six.

The injuries we’ve suffered in pre-season are disappointing, of course they are.

To lose Luke McCullough for the season is a nightmare, and Craig Alcock will also be a big miss.

But Darren Ferguson has brought some good players in. I’ve heard good things, in particular, about Mathieu Baudry, Matty Blair and John Marquis.

The manager knows that he has got to finish in the top three and I think he’ll put that pressure on himself.

He’ll want to get off to a good start, but who doesn’t?

Let’s hope we can quickly establish ourselves in the top six and then keep building on it. I’m confident we can achieve everything we want to achieve this season.

I’m looking for more organisation and communication from this team though.

The best defender I have ever seen is maybe not someone who you would immediately think of - Martin Keown. He organised everything in front of him and to the side of him when Arsenal were attacking. He would tell people where to be and when a team broke on them they would be able to condense things.

We got caught on the break quite a bit last season and it all comes down to communication and organisation.