Familiar faces, a bold signing and a strange exit: Doncaster Rovers haven’t started well but fans shouldn’t panic yet

Doncaster Rovers haven’t quite clicked into gear in the early weeks of the season. They have failed to win any of their opening five league games, exited the Carabao Cup in the second round and are seven points worse off than they were at the same stage last season.

However, after bringing in 11 new faces and sanctioning a series of departures, they should be more than equipped to build on last season’s 14th place finish or at the very least match it.

Here, following the closure of the summer window, the Free Press assesses the transfer window - and the likelihood of it being a success or a failure.

Doncaster Rovers should have more firepower this season but it hasn’t clicked yet

Of course there’s questions to be answered of each of the 11 signings, and those will only be answered over time as the season progresses.

Perhaps the most obvious place to start is at the end of the window with deadline day addition James Collins who comes in on loan from Lincoln City.

Collins is one of the most accomplished players in McCann’s new-look team. He’s a proven winner. A striker with 230 career goals, three League One promotions, 13 international caps and 17 seasons of experience in the Football League.

On paper, he’s perhaps the obvious replacement for Billy Sharp in the sense that he’s good around the dressing room and knows where the net is.

Surely a no-brainer to bring him in then? There’s just one problem. He’s only joining until January and is coming in off the back of an ACL injury which has kept him out since December.

Collins is perhaps the signing that raises the most questions for that reason.

On the one hand, he has the capability of being a fantastic addition to the dressing room in terms of leadership. He’ll add a different dimension to the team’s attacking play, which could help bring more out of Alfie May.

If he starts well, and perhaps the loan gets extended, this could even be a masterstroke. However, with his probable return date not being until October or perhaps November depending on his rehab, his window of opportunity to play at the moment looks limited.

Rovers won’t need much introduction to the next name I’ll focus on, season-long loan signing Alfie May. He played for the club between 2017 and 2020 and even worked under McCann during his first stint as manager.

In his previous spell, May was still learning his trade with Rovers, a diamond in the rough so to speak, having come from non-league.

But now he’s a very experienced EFL finisher- and all the signs are there to suggest that if he gets service, he’ll score goals and lots of them. After all he’s got 89 League One goals across the last five seasons for Cheltenham Town, Charlton, Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town respectively.

However, if you're going to see the best of May, the decision-making in the final third will need to improve. At the moment, it all feels a little bit too direct in the build-up, which doesn’t really suit the skillset of the 5ft 9in forward.

Francis Okoronkwo is another addition to the frontline that Rovers fans have seen before, albeit briefly. He’s been out since January due to injury after impressing in his five loan appearances last term. The youngster struggled with fitness, but when back, just adds to the list of options McCann has at his disposal.

The Rovers boss certainly thinks he has a high ceiling. “If Frankie is fit we don't sign him.There's no question. He goes to the Championship. That's how big of a ceiling he has, the lad”.

The challenge of replacing Luke Molyneux

Rovers have added firepower to their attack but they’ll only really be able to harness that if the creativity behind them is at a good standard.

The hierarchy were unable to convince Luke Molyneux to sign a new deal in the summer and ultimately decided to cash in and sell him to Salford City rather than allowing him to go on a free in 12 months time. The whole saga marked a strange full stop to his time in South Yorkshire with many being surprised at the 28-year-old’s decision to drop a division.

Molyneux managed 19 goal contributions last term, with his exit leaving a huge void in terms of creativity. Rovers acted quickly to fill that gap with Tommi O’Reilly - a loan signing from Aston Villa and Jordan Thomas on a free transfer from Cheltenham Town.

O'Reilly was described as someone ‘with a special shot’ by those that watched him up close at Crewe. He won their fans Player of the Season and should bring some additional flair to the group.

Thomas after 14 goal contributions in League Two last season - similar numbers to Molyneux in his final season at Hartlepool - could prove a tidy addition as well.

There’s also Isaac Hutchinson, a marquee arrival for what's widely understood to be the biggest fee since Ben Whiteman’s arrival, in central midfield.

He’s hailed by those at Cheltenham as ‘seriously talented’ and is slowly starting to look the part with two early goals for the club as he aims to build on his impressive 20-goal season in 2025/26.

All of these additions look set to have a big role to play in replacing Molyneux’s output. But patience will be required for the trio, who currently, are yet to hit the ground running.

It’s worth noting that each of the new creative players are all jumping up a division and will need time to settle.

A familiar backline with new options between the posts

Doncaster Rovers have made changes throughout the pitch but there’s a familiar feel to the backline.

Neill Bryne was re-signed on a permanent basis after an impressive six-month loan spell towards the end of last season which helped catapult the club up the table.

Meanwhile, James Husband nearly 12 years on from his last spell in DN4 comes back to provide competition to Jack Senior at left-back. Husband won promotion in 2013 with the club and has amassed great experience in both the Championship and League One with the likes of Middlesbrough, Norwich, Fleetwood and Blackpool among others.

Both will need little introduction to the area, but there’s plenty of change between the posts with loanee Tommy Simkin arriving from Stoke City - and Josh Clarke arriving from Patrick Thistle on a three-year-deal.

Simkin is an England Under-20 international with a fair bit of Championship experience under his belt from last season while Clarke played 42 times in the second-tier of Scottish football for a team that went close to promotion in 2025/26.

Can Doncaster Rovers improve on last season?

As it stands, Rovers are not performing like a team that looks set to challenge for the play-offs.

They are winless in the league and have recorded 16 shots on target - the third lowest in the division.

However, this is a very small sample size of a long and testing season which is bound to have plenty of twists and turns.

Last season, the likes of O’Reilly, Thomas and Hutchinson all showed that they are capable of playing much better than what we’re seeing - once they are bedded in they should do well.

Meanwhile, May has almost half a decade of goals under his belt to also show that if given the service, he’ll be up there with the best in the division.

So although it has not been the start to the season Rovers’ fans would have wanted, it is still far too early to write the season off just yet.