Gary McSheffrey says Doncaster Rovers are making progress under his stewardship

Three-second half goals saw Rovers beat struggling Crawley Town 4-1 at the Eco-Power Stadium and snap a three-game losing streak in League Two, which had seen some fans question McSheffrey’s position.

Joseph Olowu’s close-range header gave Doncaster the lead on 40 minutes before they were pegged back two minutes later when James Tilley fired the visitors level.

Rovers took control after the break thanks to George Miller's brace, the first from the penalty spot, with Kyle Hurst sealing the win late on after a brilliant solo run.

McSheffrey said: "I know there is progress. When I took over this role it wasn’t that pretty.

"There wasn’t a backroom staff (team). We’re definitely in a better place, we are a proper club, we are a proper set of staff.

"It’s about opinions though. I’ll be the first to say the last three performances in the league weren’t good enough and take ownership.

"All you can do is respond, keep working hard and keep believing.”

Saturday’s win was also Doncaster’s biggest since November 2020 when they thumped FC United of Manchester 5-1 in the FA Cup first round.

Asked whether he felt Rovers’ had progressed quickly enough under him, McSheffrey said: “It’s a tough question.

"In terms of results, for the beginning of the season, the progress was good. You are always going to have sticky patches and it’s how you respond.

"How do you learn from setbacks if you never have them? It was a testing couple of weeks. We’ll see how we handle it moving forward.”

A tactical switch against Crawley saw McSheffrey deploy two strikers in a 4-4-2 system with Kieran Agard joining George Miller up front.

That move paid dividends with 17 efforts at goal.

Agard also had a hand in both goals.

First, he won a penalty when his header struck the arm of a visiting defender.

A speculative effort from outside the box then hit Miller and fell kindly into his path, allowing him to drill the ball home for his fifth goal of the season.

McSheffrey said: “I still want us to play better flowing football.

"But today was winning football. Let’s try and keep building on it.”