Doncaster Rovers newbie excited to get going after swapping the South for South Yorkshire

Brandon Hanlan has spent his life up until now exclusively in the south: the aforementioned calling points are his previous seven clubs.

So you can understand why his move up north to Doncaster Rovers might well have raised a few eyebrows when it was announced back in June.

"This is the first time I've moved up North but to be fair it's been a pretty easy transition so far," the Chelsea-born forward told the Free Press earlier this summer.

"It's been about getting myself a place and then just settling down. It's a massive part of it, that (uprooting). Your life outside of football has to be settled as possible so that you can concentrate on the football and make it a lot easier. I moved up with my missus and our little dog, a Frenchie, and I'm looking forward to it."

As Hanlan negotiates the many off-field changes that comes with swapping the South for South Yorkshire, he's also acclimatising to his new teammates and finding his feet within a team that's got big designs on impressing in its League One return.

To that end, he knows exactly how he will be judged after being handed the famed number nine shirt for the coming season.

"I've come here to try and score goals and my aim is to get as many as I can this pre-season to get into good form going into the main season," he adds.

"It's been tough in the summer. They've worked us very hard in pre-season! But I guess it's all worth it and for a worthy cause.

"It's about building foundations to go into the new season and so obviously pre-season is going to be made as hard as possible for us. Then when you get into the proper season, other teams may blow up quick but it's important we don't and that we keep on pushing.

"It's a new challenge for myself. A lot of the boys have played League Two and have experience of League One aswell but I feel like the standard here is high enough for us to do very well.

"The gaffer made it clear what he wants to do. It's all clear in the boys' heads and it's about us now just making sure we do the best we can."