‘I certainly wouldn’t be writing Grant McCann Off’ says ex-Northern Ireland man amid Doncaster Rovers struggles

Under-pressure Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann has been backed to turn the clubs fortunes around in the weeks and months ahead following a challenging start to the new season.

Rovers were hammered 6-1 away at MK Dons in their last league fixture, marking the joint heaviest defeat of McCann’s tenure in charge of the football club.

Just seven days after that they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by a newly-promoted Kidderminster Harriers side that compete two divisions below Rovers.

McCann was subjected to chants of ‘sacked in the morning’ by his own supporters with sections of the crowd also venting their frustrations at the players claiming that they weren’t fit to wear the shirt - something which McCann admitted made him feel ‘hurt’ in a candid post-match interview.

“I definitely think Grant can turn it around,” said former Northern Ireland international teammate Conor Washington, via BestBettingBonuses.co.uk.

“I think you've got to look at some of the reasons behind the results rather than just the results themselves. They've had a really difficult time with injuries, particularly in full back areas, and that's forced Grant to change the shape of the team at times because he simply hasn't had the players available to play how he'd like.

“That has a knock on effect because you're asking players to do different jobs and you lose some of those relationships and understanding that come from playing together regularly. They've had injuries at the top end of the pitch too, so it's been difficult to get any real consistency.”

Rovers recently welcomed back Jack Senior and Jamie Sterry after periods on the sidelines while they are soon hoping to be boosted by experienced figures such as Matty Pearson, James Husband and deadline day arrival James Collins.

At one point, the club were in double figures for players in the treatment room, and while the situation is no longer as severe the club are unlikely to see Will Keane again until at least December. He was just starting to show his promise after arriving in October.

Washington added: “Grant will know injuries can't be an excuse for everything, and I think there's been a bit of a theme in the last couple of defeats. Both MK Dons and Kidderminster are quite direct teams and Doncaster have struggled to deal with that.

“For me, you've either got to get enough pressure on the ball to stop teams playing forward with any real quality, or you accept that the first ball is coming and make sure you're organised and have enough bodies around it to pick up the second one.

“At the minute they don't seem to be doing either particularly well, and that's something that can be improved without necessarily having to make huge changes.”

Washington claims that Rovers are likely to benefit from having a more settled lineup after the international break and claims McCann is someone that is often at his best when he is proving people wrong.

The former Derby and Sheffield United frontman added: “I think getting some players back will make a big difference and hopefully allow Grant to settle on a team and get a bit of consistency.

“I know what he's like as a person and a manager, and I certainly wouldn't be writing him off. But I think the first thing is just making themselves harder to play against, giving themselves a platform in games and building a bit of confidence from there.”