Gary McSheffrey warns of a trial and error period ahead for Doncaster Rovers

Rovers added eight players in the January transfer window and McSheffrey insists he will continue to make changes to his line-ups as long as performances remain inconsistent.

“We want to find a solution and the best options as soon as we can,” he said.

“But the reality is that it’s going to be experimental and trial and error for a little bit.

“If you get the performance level, you don’t change the team selection.“Getting consistency from individuals and the performance level of what we had, will mould and form what our best team will be.

“It’s the balance of me trying to find it by experimenting with it and trying certain things.

“But then it’s also down to individuals to make sure it is the right solution by keeping their shirt.”

Part of integrating the new players into the squad will involve getting some of them up to speed with their match fitness.

Adam Clayton had not played in senior football since last January prior to his debut off the bench for Rovers against Plymouth Argyle while Reo Griffiths’ minutes for Lyon B were restricted due to Covid regulations in France.

McSheffrey said: “There’s a plan for them. We need to do work with them.

“They will be constantly monitored for games and progression.

“We know where some of them are at and what we’ve got to do about it.

“One thing we’re not going to do is if people aren’t ready or sharp enough expect them to be ready for matchdays.“Sometimes you have to play players just to see where they’re at.

“We’ll have a plan for players that haven’t had much game time before they’ve come to the club to try to get them up to speed as quick as we can.

“Some will get up to speed quicker than others.

“We’ll know where they’re at in a few weeks and there will be progression constantly.

“We have got more numbers in so we can have a better plan for certain players and fitness levels.”

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