The two Doncaster Rovers men that have given Grant McCann the exact ‘problem’ he wants heading into Wimbledon

Grant McCann was keen to look at the positives of his side’s performance against Huddersfield Town despite the fact the team fell to a 3-1 defeat.

The Doncaster Rovers manager made nine changes in total for the EFL Trophy opener and when doing so sent the players out onto the pitch with one clear message.

“Just give me an issue, give me a problem going into Saturday,” said McCann.

Two players in particular responded to that instruction, they were Leon Ayinde and Jordan Thomas - a pair who as of yet haven’t hit the ground running for Doncaster Rovers since their permanent moves from Ipswich Town and Cheltenham Town respectively.

In some ways this is to be expected. Ayinde is experiencing life in the Football League for the first time after loan stints at Rochdale and Boreham Wood in the National League in the two seasons leading up to his move to DN4.

Thomas, meanwhile arrived from a Cheltenham side that finished in 18th position in League Two last term - joining at a similar time to former teammate Isaac Hutchinson, who came through the door this summer, but unlike his teammate didn’t really have a pre-season to gain match sharpness and adapt to his new surroundings.

“We've got quite a few of the players in this team that we really believe in.I think as the season goes, I think everybody will see what I'm talking about,” explained McCann.

“I'm really pleased with some of the performances they've had tonight and I think it was a really positive display. We looked energetic.”

Thomas has played most of his football on the right wing since joining. He was handed a start against Stockport in the League Cup and was also selected from the start against Barnsley in the first home game of the season. He was taken off shortly after the hour mark in both matches and has only otherwise had brief cameos from the bench.

However, against Huddersfield, those in attendance were offered a glimpse into a different side of Thomas’ game with the 25-year-old playing parts of the match in a more central attacking midfield role, it worked fairly well with the playmaker troubling Terriers goalkeeper Jak Alnwick with a series of good efforts from outside the area, and combining excellently with Harry Clifton in the build-up to Rovers’ opener.

On another night, Thomas could have very easily had a goal, which was exactly what Ayinde was able to do in the first-half as he gave McCann something to think about with a composed finish from close distance.

Prior to the Huddersfield game, Ayinde had only started one match across all competitions. That came in the first-half of the Stockport win in the League Cup although he was taken off at half-time.

The winger has shown his explosive pace in four appearances off the bench in League One without really providing any sort of end product, but has certainly given the manager a lot more to think about in the 78-minute outing on Tuesday - with his willingness to run at Lasse Sørensen and his ability to get balls into the box.

Speaking about the pair’s performance on Tuesday evening, McCann added: “It'll give me a headache, but that's what you want. I don't want to be in the position where the team sort of picks itself. I want the players to give me a problem. I felt a few of them did tonight.”