Doncaster Rovers boss keen to avoid mental baggage for players over set piece frailty

But the Rovers boss is also keen to avoid his players going onto the pitch with too much mental baggage over the issue.

Defending set pieces has become a problem for Rovers over the last couple of months, with Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Crewe Alexandra being the latest game to see a goal conceded from a dead ball situation.

Wellens says the key to strengthening Rovers’ resolve in such circumstances is communication among the players.

“I don’t think it’s a confidence thing,” he said. “I think it’s more a communication thing and it’s part of the development of young players.

“At Crewe, Ethan Galbraith goes out, he’s too square on and he doesn’t check what is behind him. Matt Smith should communicate with him and Ethan should drop ten yards and it’s sorted.

“Sometimes we’re screaming from the sidelines but it’s difficult to get the message on because they can’t hear you.

“We’ve worked on set plays a lot in the last three or four weeks.

“We just need to be a bit calmer with it so people don’t get too nervous every time we give away a set play.

“We just need to be more calm, more professional and see the danger when it’s there.”

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