'Lit a fire in my belly' - Doncaster Rovers man fires promotion message after sealing return
Rovers have been busy in the transfer market this summer, with six signings already on board
Neill Byrne says he wants to get back to tussling it out for promotion after re-signing on a permanent basis for Doncaster Rovers.
The centre-half spent the second half of last season on loan at Rovers, posting some accomplished displays. With his contract at parent club Bradford City up this summer he decided to return to South Yorkshire on a two-year deal.
Last season saw Grant McCann's men end the campaign strongly as they finished well clear of danger in their first season back in the third tier. It wasn't without its struggles, but the addition of Byrne in the New Year contributed to a solid second half of the campaign. Nevertheless, a 14th-placed finish is not something Byrne wishes to become the norm.
After all, the 33-year-old has become accustomed to challenging for promotion. The three previous campaigns had seen Byrne fall just short in the League Two play-offs with Stockport before they clinched promotion in 2023-24. He then replicated that feat after a switch to Bradford in 2024-25.
Last term was an up-and-down one for Byrne, playing a bit-part role with the Bantams - who would ultimately reach the League One play-offs - before ending the campaign strongly with Rovers. Safe to say then that he shares McCann's ambitions of finishing much higher in the table in 2026-27.
"The manager reiterated through our conversations about how he wants to get this club into the Championship and he wants a successful team," Byrne said last month. “I felt like that's something I wanted to be a part of. I think last season was the first time in the last three or four years where I haven't been a part of a promotion or a play-off game at Wembley or winning the league.
"I've had that taste over the last three or four years and so coming into this summer it felt strange for the season to be finished and then watching the play-offs from the outside. It felt a bit weird and it really lit a fire in my belly. I would love to go and get automatics next year but if not and it's the play-offs, then you still want to be involved with that and as a player you want to be involved in these big games.
"I think that first season gives us a good stepping stone going into next year to hopefully achieve that."