Frank Sinclair reveals plan for youth team players at Doncaster Rovers

Sinclair was appointed lead professional development phase coach, overseeing the club’ under-18 side, following Chad Gribble’s promotion to the first team to assist head coach Danny Schofield in October.

Schofield boasts plenty of experience in development football and has told his former Huddersfield Town teammate Sinclair what attributes he wants from each position.

Sinclair said: “We want players that can handle the ball, we want to build from the back at times and be comfortable on the ball as defenders.

"We want midfielders that are capable of receiving the ball in tight areas and finding a way out, and we want forwards with good movement that can run in behind and hold the ball up.

"We are generally playing with wing-backs at the minute, so we are looking at athletic players that can cover large amounts of the pitch and attack and defend.

"We have got an identity for every player for a certain position.”

Schofield has invited several youth-team players to train with the first team since his appointment.

Defender and first-year scholar Will Flint was also named on the bench for Rovers’ trip to Leyton Orient earlier this month.

Sinclair said: “We try and get them in front of the first team as much as possible. I’ll give information on how the players are training to the first-team staff.

"They will pick players they need for training sessions, more often than not it’s position specific to suit the sessions.

"But there comes a time when they want to look at the players we think are doing really well.”

Sinclair, who made almost 300 Premier League appearances as a player, added: "Sometimes you get an opportunity just because of the position you play in, but that’s an opportunity to impress the manager.

"You also need a bit of luck, but ultimately it’s what you do in front of him that’s really important.”

The club’s youngsters are ‘giving everything’ to achieve their dream of becoming professional footballers, Sinclair said.

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He admitted the task has been made harder in the absence of an under-23s side, however.

Sinclair said: “It’s a big step.

"You have to be an exceptional player to come out of the under-18s and go into first-team football and find your feet straight away.

"There’s a gap we have to bridge. Some are ready for going out and playing on loan, some you have to keep within the building longer and develop them a little bit more before that happens.”

Doncaster’s under-23s section was disbanded in 2020 due to the financial pressures of the coronavirus pandemic.

There are no plans to revive it in the short term.

Gary McSheffrey, who managed the under-23s during his time at the club, previously revealed he would often struggle to find enough players to fulfil fixtures.

Max Watters and Shane Blaney were among those allowed to leave Rovers when the under-23s squad was disbanded in 2020.

The pair have since gone on to sign for Cardiff City in the Championship and SPL side Motherwell, with the former signing for £1 million in 2021.

Striker Watters is currently on loan at Barnsley in League One.