Doncaster Rovers boss Gary McSheffrey will be 'fully supported' by the club

Doncaster’s strong start to the season has been rocked by three back-to-back defeats in League Two, which has also seen McSheffrey come in for criticism over the last week.

Pressure is now on the Rovers chief to ensure his side’s progression in the opening weeks is not derailed further and prove to some fans he is still the man for the job.

How will the rookie boss handle the heat?

"You have to try and work hard and lean on the people that support you,” said McSheffrey, who lost seven of his first eight games in charge last season.

"This club is great with me, they fully support me. You lean on your family and friends. It’s a new experience this season because we started so well.”

McSheffrey wants accountability, not cliques, in the dressing room.

“We look for the characters now that are up for the challenge and stick together," he said.

"I said to the players ‘I have been in dressing rooms and played games where you have a little rut, you lose a few and it's important that you don’t go off in your little groups whispering’.

"’It’s important that everything is out there in the open and if you want to get it off your chest, get it off your chest and we’ll move forward together by doing it that way.’”

Has he seen any evidence of that?

"Not yet, but it does creep in when you have a few bumps in the road.

"My core value is probably accountability. I take it in abundance and accept things. Players need to do that as well.”

McSheffrey, who has taken advice from the likes of Rotherham United boss Paul Warne and England Under-21s head coach Lee Carsley in his first managerial post, added: "We don’t hammer them. Sometimes we come out and say names and single a few people out just to say they need to be better.

“But we are not hammering players and trying to make them lose confidence, we are trying to help them through it.”

A much-changed Rovers side is expected to take on Lincoln City in the Papa Johns Trophy tonight.