Darren Moore backs Fejiri Okenabirhie to 'stake a claim' in Doncaster Rovers' EFL Trophy tie

With Tyreece John-Jules away on international duty with England U20s, the path is clear for Okenabirhie to start for the first time in five matches.

And Moore is confident the striker is ready to argue his case for regular starts going forward for Rovers.

“There’s a few of them champing at the bit to get some game time and players want to play,” he told th Free Press.

“There’s one or two of them looking at the opportunity to stake a claim.

“We train as a whole group here and we’ll select a team that is right to go out there.

“That’s the appetite that they’ve got and Fej is no different.

“He wants to play games as a striker and I’m sure he’ll have been sitting on the bench on Saturday looking at some of those chances going begging and thinking he could be on the end of a few of them.

“It’s nice that we’ve got someone of his ilk and talent to call upon.”

With Josef Bursik and Danny Amos both also away on international duty and Reece James, Jason Lokilo and Rayhaan Tulloch all injured, there is opportunity for several players to earn their significant game time at Boundary Park.

But having requested their league game with Shrewsbury Town on Saturday be postponed due to those international calls, Moore will have little need to rest players on Tuesday evening.

Regardless, he is confident that whatever team he names will be capable of getting the win over Harry Kewell’s Oldham side.

“Every single player here is told they have the opportunity to play, whether in cup matches or the league,” he said.

“We try to build it here from the most senior player to the youngest, they are all expected to do it and there is trust in them.

“Finding the balance here is all about winning games. We want to win games.

“I want to build a mentality that we win games here. And that ekes rights through the structure.

“I feel like we’ve got a squad here that is in the right place mentally and knows what is expected of them.”

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