Doncaster Rovers: Darren Moore on preparing to deal with Adebayo Akinfenwa ahead of Wycombe Wanderers trip

How do you solve a problem like Adebayo Akinfenwa?
Adebayo AkinfenwaAdebayo Akinfenwa
Adebayo Akinfenwa

That is one question Doncaster Rovers will look to answer as they head to surprise League One leaders Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

The 37-year-old has picked up six goals and four assists this season for the Chairboys and continues to cause all manner of problems for opposition defences with his incredible physicality.

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The sheer presence of Akinfenwa – briefly a player with Rovers in 2004 – provokes panic which creates opportunities for himself and, arguably more importantly for Wycombe, his team mates.

Rovers boss Darren Moore says his side must avoid focusing too much on the powerful striker as they look to become only the second side to beat Wycombe in the league this season.

“He’s an excellent player,” Moore said. “He’s had, and continues to have, a fantastic career.

“He’s effective at what he does but within that there’s a wonderful player who has got some fantastic technical ability, his feet are great, he moves well for a big man.

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“It’s testament to him and his fitness. He’s 37 now and he’s still affecting the game.

“I take my hat off to these seasoned pros. We've got our very own who everyone knows here.

“He’s a fantastic player. He’s an effective player for them and we know all about him.

“But also there are some wonderful players at Wycombe that carry a danger.

“We’ll prepare for them as we would for any other team.

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“Also in preparing for them we have to have a gameplan in being effective ourselves. That is no different from preparing for any other team.

“We know it’s going to be a stern test but it’s a test that lies in wait and we look forward to it.”

Wycombe were taken to extra time in their FA Cup first round replay on Wednesday night, eventually losing to Tranmere Rovers.

Moore does not expect the midweek exertions of Saturday’s hosts to have any tangible effect on the game.

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He said: “They may not feel so because they’ve still got home advantage and they've not had to travel this week.

“If they’d have travelled either on Wednesday or for Saturday they would probably feel that it was a huge task.

"But the mere fact they’re at home meant they could prepare at home and do their recovery straight after the game rather than having to travel.

“Time will tell and we’ll see but I’ll imagine that Gareth [Ainsworth] has got other bodies he can chop and change with if he needs to.

“We just focus on what we're about. We know it’ll be a tough game.

"Adams Park is always a tough place to go but these are the challenges we are relishing this season.”

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