Connor O'Riordan reflects on 'really good' Doncaster Rovers loan stint after Blackburn recall
Connor O'Riordan has been reflecting on his time at Doncaster Rovers, after his loan spell in South Yorkshire came to a premature end.
The centre-half arrived in DN4 last summer from Blackburn Rovers on what was a proposed season-long stay with Grant McCann's side. But amid an injury crisis back at Ewood Park, his parent club invoked a break clause and recalled him at the midway point of the season.
O'Riordan's time at Doncaster was hugely successful on a personal level, with the 22-year-old racking up 19 league appearances - only three outfield players have played more league minutes this season.
O'Riordan's performances generally belied Rovers' lowly position with McCann's side sitting in the relegation places at the time of his Lancashire return.
"It’s been really good for me (at Doncaster). I obviously played a lot of games which was the main objective," said O'Riordan, who made just his third appearance for Valérien Ismaël's side as he came off the bench for Sunday's draw with Charlton.
"I enjoyed it, there were lots of challenges but overall it was a really good experience. I played a lot of games in 2025 which I am really happy with and now I think I am ready to take the next step back here.
"I started at Doncaster in pre-season and that really helped me to settle in and get ready for the season. It allowed me to have a good start to the season. It has been good to be playing every week – Saturday, Tuesday – and just being able to perform at a good level.
"I am really happy with how it has gone. It is a challenging league and we started really well. The first eight games of the season, we only lost one and then we had been going through a tough patch, but that is the league.
"Sometimes you need a bit of luck and maybe we did not have that. But it has been a good standard and I think I am ready for the next step now."