Andy Butler relishing chance to shine in temporary spell in charge of Doncaster Rovers

Butler has been handed the reins at the club with manager Darren Moore and coaches Jamie Smith and Paul Gerrard forced to self isolate after coming into contact with a positive Covid-19 case.

Having spent almost a year in charge of Doncaster Rovers Belles, Butler is looking forward to testing his coaching mettle in senior men’s football, starting with Saturday’s FA Cup first round tie at FC United of Manchester.

“It’s a great chance to show people how I conduct myself and how I manage,” he said.

“I’ve done it for nine or ten months with the Belles and it’s been a good stepping stone and learning curve for me.

“Hopefully I can replicate what I do for the Belles on the first team because it’s an important game for the club.

“It will be a tough game but it's one we’re relishing.”

Such a contingency plan had been discussed with Butler when he signed on to return to the club as a player in September, setting out that he would be the club’s choice to step in if the manager was unavailable for whatever reason.

He was quickly asked to take charge on Thursday evening, a short while after the club were informed of the contact between the senior coaching staff and the positive case - believed to be at Tuesday’s draw with AFC Wimbledon.

Butler took charge of training on Friday and was pleased with the reaction from his team mates.

“I’ve spoken to the players before training and told them what had happened and the club had asked me to step in for the games,” he said.

“The players have responded excellently like I knew they would.

“I just said to them if they were in my place and I was in theirs then I’d give them 100 per cent and I hope they would do that for me, as well as the gaffer, Sivvy and Gez, who we all wish well.

“We hope there are no ill effects to being exposed to the virus.

“The players have all rallied around well to make my job easy.

“The club know they can trust in my decisions on everything I can do.

“Hopefully I can repay them by getting to the next round and showing Doncaster Rovers the team that the gaffer, Sivvy and Gez have put together.”

Butler is expecting a tough game at Broadhurst Park as he looks to guide Rovers into the next round of the FA Cup.

He said: “You give full respect to them for the way they approach things because I think they’re a well run club and well organised team.

“A manager once said to me you’re lucky if you play in 15 FA Cup matches in your career so enjoy them.

“Make sure you’re not one of the articles in the paper talking about a cup upset.

“It’s not been too much of a problem because the gaffer and Sivvy were still taking training on Thursday.

“We know a lot about them and where to exploit them and hopefully we can nullify their strengths and expose their weaknesses.”

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