Adam Clayton pleased to see Doncaster Rovers come through Armthorpe Welfare friendly unscathed

A mixture of first-team players, trialists and second-year youth team scholars – who had returned for pre-season training just 24 hours earlier – overcame Armthorpe Welfare 2-0 on Saturday thanks to second-half goals from George Miller and Jack Goodman.

"I feel it served its purpose,” Clayton told the Free Press at full-time.

“The lads got through it, no injuries, so it was a good day.”

First-team boss Gary McSheffrey has already lost Tom Anderson, Aidan Barlow and Kyle Knoyle to injury since the start of pre-season.

Midfielder Tommy Rowe, who missed the end of last season due to surgery on a hernia problem, appeared to pull up in the first half at a packed Marra Falcons Stadium, but was able to complete 45 minutes of action.

He was replaced at the break in a planned switch as Rovers used 21 different players throughout the afternoon, including nine members of their youth team.

They enter the third week of pre-season on Monday and continue their preparations for the 2022/23 campaign against Nuneaton Burough on Saturday.

Clayton added: “Everyone has come back in really good shape with good scores on the fitness stuff.

“Now it’s about game time, getting used to playing again and playing with each other again and going from there.”

The former Leeds and Middlesbrough midfielder, now 32, continued: “The atmosphere is really good.

“We know what we’ve got to do this season. There’s no ifs, buts, or maybes. We know what we’re going for.

“We just have to make sure the application, the concentration and workrate is there.”