Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann full of praise for departing quartet including soon-to-be free agent
Grant McCann has bid a fond farewell to Doncaster Rovers' cohort of loan players after their time at the club officially came to an end.
Rovers included just two of their four loanees in the season finale at Peterborough last weekend, with Thimothee Lo-Tutala starting and Elliot Lee coming off the bench in the 3-1 victory over the Posh.
The other pair, Zander Clark and Neill Byrne, weren't involved as McCann opted to give substitute places to a clutch of the clubs' youngsters instead. Despite that, he was full of praise for the contribution of the aforementioned quartet.
In terms of impact, Lo-Tutala was the only one of the four who spent the entire season at Rovers as he posted 33 league starts. The other three all came in to the club in the January transfer window and each had a positive effect on the squad, aiding a strong end to the campaign. Lee made 18 league appearances, Byrne 14 and Clark seven. Explaining the rationale of his team selection for the last day, McCann also praised all four players.
"I just spoke to Zander and I said that I wanted to basically give Jake (Oram) a go (against Peterborough)," he told the Free Press.
"But Zander's been brilliant since he came to the club. Really, really good. So it's meant for him a little bit of an extended sort of break.
"As for the other loans, Neill has been absolutely fantastic. He's probably been like the Richard Wood that we probably haven't had this season. He just has that calmness about the training ground. Against Peterborough it was just an opportunity to give Sean Grehan and Jay McGrath an opportunity and also young Kasper (Williams). I really like Neill.
"And then with Elliot, again he has that experience that we needed and that know-how. He's been brilliant in some games and the boys have really appreciated him around the building.
"And then obviously there's Timmy, who's been here before and we know what he's about and he's got better. I feel he's got better with the competition with Zander."
It remains to be seen whether any of the loanees will come into Rovers' thinking ahead of what is likely to be a busy summer on the recruitment front. Of the four, Byrne is the only one who is set to become a free agent with his Bradford City contract coming to an end.
Lee has another year on his deal at Wrexham, as does Clark at Hearts. As for Lo-Tutala, he is tied down long-term by Hull City with his current contract running until the summer of 2028.