Gary McSheffrey reflects on transfer window after Doncaster Rovers round off January business

His first transfer window as a manager will have been completed and he says the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster ride of an introduction to the art of player trading.

And while bolstered by the experience, he is pleased to be reaching a point where he can fully focus on preparing his team for matches.

“It’s a strange time to come into my first management role in a transfer window and it has been a rollercoaster,” he said.

“You have to try to delegate what to focus your time on. It’s been good. The club have backed me in providing me with some support staff that I can delegate roles to so I can focus on the job.

“That is about getting the lads ready for what happens on the pitch and out on the grass.

“That’s what 100 per cent of our focus goes onto now.

“We know our squad, this is our squad and we can focus on what we feel is the best outfit and the best way to play.

“We know it’s a busy month in games and as and when we can we’ll get to know the players inside out and who plays with what player, what strike partnership compliments each other the best.

“We’ll start to learn that now in the next few weeks.”

Rovers completed their eighth and final piece of business on the morning of deadline day with the signing of highly rated young striker Reo Griffiths from French side Lyon on a two-and-a-half year deal.

January has seen the addition of promising youngsters such as Griffiths and Ollie Younger, experienced heads Kieran Agard, Adam Clayton and Jonathan Mitchell plus loanees Josh Martin, Mipo Odubeko and Ben Jackson.

McSheffrey feels the work done this month has been strong as he looks to mastermind a survival push.

“I think we’ve got some real good prospects in the building with good attitudes and good qualities,” he said.

“We said all along that we wouldn’t rush too much into quantity over quality. That was the key thing.

“I think we’ve got both. We’ve got some real quality and we’ve got a good amount that gives us a bit more strength in depth.”

The sustainable business model of the club meant it was unlikely Rovers would cherry pick the sort of quick fix signings to achieve an immediate goal of survival.

And, as McSheffrey has previously admitted, there was a determination to bring in players that would be suitable beyond this season, whatever division Rovers find themselves in.

“We had to be clever, picky and realistic with what budget we were working with,” he said.

“It couldn’t be gung ho and put us in a financial mess.

“To do it, we’d have probably needed to spend £15,000 a week in wages on four players. That’s what the big clubs in this league are doing and that’s what they’ve done for the quick fix.

“If it works for them then great but that’s not the way we do things here. That’s not our ethos or philosophy.

“We’re a well-run club with sustainability and we stick to that. We try to bring in players that will be good for the future and that can be good investments.”

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