Darren Moore on whether his Doncaster Rovers squad will be fit enough for start of league season

Rovers will have six weeks of pre-season training under their belts by the time they kick off their league opener against MK Dons on Saturday.

That period has been disrupted by the presence of competitive matches in the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy and, coupled with a break of five months from training due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it means preparations have not been as controlled as Moore would have liked.

But he insists the squad will be in the best possible condition it can be given the time constraints.

“I think the game will tell,” he said when asked if his players would be ready for Saturday.

“Do I think people will be match ready? I think they will be in the best possible condition as the season ebbs and flows.

“You’ll get more from one or two, or you might get one or two not find their rhythm.

“But it’s about recognising where they’re at and finding where they’re at as the season progresses.

“In terms of the time given for us before the start of the season, they’ll be in the best possible shape to be ready for that.”

Moore believes that the fitness of his players will grow as they progress through the first few weeks of the season.

But the task for the coming week is to bring them as close to ideal fitness as possible.

“As the season progresses, you’ll no doubt get more because they will settle down to their surroundings and the tempo of the play and everything else that is needed,” he said.

“You’ll get ten or 20 per cent more out of some.

“The job is to find that near 20 per cent that is needed so they’re operating at full tilt from the 12th or as close to that as possible.

“Time will tell with it as we go on.”

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