‘Doubt us all you want’ - Grant McCann’s message as Doncaster Rovers aim to bounce back from slow start
Grant McCann is confident that Doncaster Rovers will turn their fortunes around after a winless start to the league season
Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann has sent a rallying message to supporters after the team’s slow start to the League One campaign.
Rovers have picked up just three points from their opening five matches and are still waiting to record their first league win of the season.
McCann admitted his team simply weren’t good enough in their most recent 3-2 defeat to Plymouth and added that at half time he had to raise his voice to get a reaction out of the players.
“It's another game where I'm having to raise my voice at half-time, which I don't like doing. It's not what I used to respect when I was a player as a manager, losing his head,” McCann explained.
“But it's sort of reactive stuff again in the second half. We come out, we start well, tremendous run from Brandon.
“We get the penalty, Alfie scores. For five minutes, we're okay. And then we just explode. It's just nowhere (good enough) we deserved to lose today.”
Heading into the campaign, McCann spoke openly about his desire to try and get the club into the Championship, but as it stands the table doesn’t make great viewing for supporters with the team languishing in 22nd position at this early stage.
However, McCann was keen to point out that nothing is ever won or lost in September with 41 games remaining in the league season.
In an effort to convey this message, a few hours after his post-match press conference, McCann posted on X: “We know the start hasn’t been what any of us wanted, but doubt us all you want. This group will respond. Nothing is won or lost in September we know that. We keep working, we keep fighting, and we keep moving forward.”
Rovers will be desperate to get that first league victory at the weekend when they travel to Plough Lane to take on an AFC Wimbledon team that battled relegation for large periods of last season.
McCann’s men came out on top when they last faced The Wombles in the capital back in January, with Owen Bailey scoring a 99th winner in the contest.
That particular goal and victory proved to be a catalyst for Rovers’ rise up the table.
Following that win, Rovers had just 27 points on the board and were sat 22nd in the table, but they subsequently went on to take a commendable 34 points from 19 matches to rise up to 14th in the final league table.