Darren Moore on why expectations for Doncaster Rovers should be kept in check

But he has suggested expecting Rovers to automatically match their efforts from last term is not particularly realistic.

Rovers reached the semi-finals of the League One play-offs last season, losing out on penalties against a Charlton Athletic side that went on to win promotion.

While Moore has never ruled out the possibility of matching the feat, he suggests setting a run to the play-offs as a benchmark is unfair given the amount of change at the club since.

“The team got into the play-offs last year - we’ve lost seven or eight players from that team,” Moore said.

“There are two players remaining on the pitch from that team.

“Is this a rebuilding process? Absolutely, 100 per cent.

“Any team that loses three or four players is rebuilding. We’ve lost eight or nine.

“To do the maths, suggests we’re doing a rebuilding. It’s a new team, that is the facts.”

Of the team that started the second leg at Charlton last May, only James Coppinger and Ben Whiteman remain with the club. Kieran Sadlier and Joe Wright also came off the bench during the game.

Moore is happy with the work done so far in the rebuilding job he was tasked with after replacing Grant McCann last summer but says it will never stop.

“Have we come a long way? Absolutely, with the players we’ve got.

“Are the young players in the team learning immensely? Absolutely, without a doubt.

“Has the team we’ve got improved? Yes.

Have the players from the loan clubs improved? Yes.

“There’s a continuation and building here that in terms of where we were and where we are, has come on huge strides. But we don’t want to stand still, we need to keep moving.

“Yes, everyone wants instant success. Yes football is about getting success and winning games.

“But football is a team game and you’re working all the time towards it.”