Doncaster Rovers: Grant McCann on stat that sums up Plymouth battering + loan quartet clarity

Rovers went 1-0 up through an early Brandon Hanlan but ended up on the end of a 5-1 tonking after posting arguably their worst performance of the campaign.

The result leaves Rovers second-bottom after a nightmare run of just one victory in their last 14 League One affairs. Rovers started brightly but just couldn't build on that aforementioned Hanlan strike. Mistakes and errors, chiefly among the home defence, were far too commonplace against an Argyle side that gleefully took full advantage.

One telling statistic for McCann and his players was a 70-minute gap between attempts on target. After Hanlan found the net with just four minutes on the clock, the next serious question asked of Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard didn't arrive until the 76th minute via a relatively tame strike from substitute Billy Sharp. Nevertheless, the game was long gone by then.

"That probably just sums it up, doesn't it?" McCann said to the Free Press.

"We didn't look to cause any sort of danger at all. Every time we had the ball, we looked like we were going to lose it and they were going to break on us. So, yes, it's a frustrating day for everyone.

"I just didn't see a spark. We've had this before since I've been here. I remember getting beat 5-1 here against Stockport, 5-0 against Morecambe. You're scratching your head and you're thinking, how has that happened?

"As a team we're wide open right now. This is not just a reflection of the goalkeeper or the back four. We're too easy to score against, too easy to play against at this moment in time and we need to find a way to be better.

"I need to reflect on what am I doing wrong. What am I doing wrong at this moment in time? I think we've done a lot right since we've been here. But at this moment in time, it's wrong. Because we shouldn't be conceding 11 goals in three games. It's just not acceptable."

Meanwhile, McCann has cleared up the reason why a quartet of loanees weren't involved against the Pilgrims. Rovers have five players on loan arrangements: Goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala, defender Connor O'Riordan, midfielder Charlie Crew and forwards Damola Ajayi and Toyosi Olusanya. However, only Lo-Tutala featured on Saturday with the other four not even named as substitutes. That led to some speculation surrounding their respective futures at the club.

"It was just the selection of the team today. That's all it was," said the Northern Irishman, when asked to clarify the situation.