Doncaster Rovers fan blog: Gary McSheffrey has united the squad and at least given us some hope

Excluding a dreadful second half of the 2015/16 season, which led to relegation, the club has been consistently challenging for the top half of League One, attracting managers such as Darren Ferguson and Grant McCann.

However, an exciting start to the Darren Moore reign turned salty and that’s where it all changed.

It was June 21, 2019. A manager who turned out to be a coup for the club had left and swapped his services for Championship strugglers Hull City.

Fans felt betrayed and were in shock. An exciting season that resulted in Doncaster reaching the play-offs got the fans excited for the next one.

Instead fans were riddled with fear for what the future would hold, especially when McCann had let numerous key figures leave the club while preaching loyalty – something he would not display.

His replacement was Darren Moore, an exciting manager who looked impressive during his spell in charge of West Brom. It was an appointment fans were not expecting.

His first season was impressive, with the club unfortunate to miss out on the play-off spots due to Covid. His second season also was impressive, until a run of disappointing results. The supporters had belief in the man in charge to turn it around.

But then it happened again. Another manager left the club for a step up, causing scrutiny of the club’s managerial contracting policy. That was when Doncaster’s downfall started.

Andy Butler took charge but he couldn’t have envisaged the size of the task he had been handed. The form was dreadful, the worst in the division that should have relegated Doncaster if it wasn’t for the impressive performances beforehand.

Richie Wellens was hired in the summer but nothing changed. The players were derived of confidence. Something seemed off but no one could quite put their finger on it.

Gary McSheffrey was the next man in the hot seat and, after a poor start, results have started to look up and the team seems to possess more confidence and is showing the true ability of the talented playing pool at hand.

He seems to have united the players and the majority of the fans appear to be on board, despite some initial doubt and frustration.

If McSheffrey manages to keep us up, this could be the start of something special. Doncaster Rovers may finally be on the up again.

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