Doncaster Rovers boss calls for quick decision on start date for next season

Doncaster Rovers boss Darren Moore believes it is imperative to know quickly when the 2020/21 season will begin to ensure footballers can be brought back up to speed.
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Discussions over the potential start date for next season are expected to intensify in the next few weeks, with the end point for all three EFL divisions now confirmed.

Rovers have not played since March 7 and have been on furlough since April 3, with no group training for three months.

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Moore says planning as a manager with any real certainty is difficult without knowing the timeframe in which to work towards.

Darren MooreDarren Moore
Darren Moore

But he believes the physical welfare and standards of players is one of the most important factors to be considered.

“The next thing now is when is the new campaign going to start?” he told the Free Press.

“When we know that we’ve got to start planning.

“I think it’s been 12 weeks that the boys have had off.

“If you’re going by when the new campaign would normally be starting, by the time the boys come back they’ll have had 20 weeks off.

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“It’s never been known. It’s almost like you’ve had three off seasons in one.

“That asks questions of the manager in terms of preparing the team.

“For the players to do their jobs they need their bodies in tip-top condition.

“They won’t have done anything but the basic stuff for potentially five months.

“That’s challenging in itself.

“The decision needs to come quickly.

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“I know they’re having meetings now and they’ll have their business heads on but I’ve got my football head on and those are the kinds of things you need to think about.

“The lads haven’t kicked a ball so what is that going to look like? You lose your balance, your coordination, your eye to ball, your timing.

“All that needs to come back. You need to get bodies back into a physically robust state in terms of being able to deal with it.

“Their bodies, their groins, their hamstrings, their muscles, protecting them from suffering soft tissue injuries - all those things you have to take into consideration.

“You just don’t turn up and start playing again.”

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