Doncaster Rovers press notes: Lessons learned, Crewe Alexandra focus and George Miller tease
and live on Freeview channel 276
Here are the best bits to emerge from the media conference:
Crewe focus
McCann insists nobody is getting ahead of themselves, despite bookmakers placing Rovers as firm favourites for the end-of-season lottery.
"We just have to focus on Crewe," said the Northern Irishman. "We can't worry about what happened before or what could happen in the future. It has to be tunnel vision. That's it."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDespite the superb run Rovers were on in the regular season, McCann and his staff will be keen to hammer home the message that nothing has been achieved as yet.
Charlton lessons learned
McCann was in charge of Rovers for their last tilt at the play-offs, back in 2018-19. And he says that he has taken plenty from their semi-final loss to Charlton.
Rovers were edged out on penalties and McCann says he does have regrets over the approach they had for the first leg at home.
He said: "You learn from past experiences. When I look back at my first time here, I know that I was a little bit cautious going into that first game against Charlton because it's the first time I was there (play-offs) as a manager.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"Maybe the way we were coaching, we were over-cautious. We never got going in the first leg. The second leg we got back to where I know we can play and put on a very good performance. You learn from past experiences for sure."
Adelakun absence explained
There was a tongue-in-cheek moment when the Free Press asked about Hakeeb Adelakun's absence from the big group photo that Rovers posted on their social media channels to celebrate McCann winning manager of the month.
Many eagle-eyed supporters realised the Lincoln loanee was not pictured and some jumped the gun, suggesting he was injured or that he may even have departed.
Worry not. McCann initially joked that Adelakun was the one behind the camera before adding: "He doesn't like pictures and interviews or anything like that! He's just so quiet. To be honest I don't know where he was. It was probably my fault because we tried to get everyone out at the same time."
Taylor and Miller
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMcCann teased the possibility of injured pair George Miller and Jon Taylor being available to feature in this play-off campaign.
Miller has been out for almost the entire season whilst Taylor hasn't been seen since Sutton in February.
McCann told the Free Press: "Jon's training well for the last few weeks, as has George. He's trained for the last seven or eight days.
"Are Jon and George going to be available for Monday? Who knows. We'll see."
It would be an extraordinary feat if Miller was to play any part at all in the next few weeks, given the original prognosis suggested his return may not be until next season.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.